High hospitalisations and presentations were continuing to place pressure across hospitals in New Zealand. Video / NZ Herald
Tauranga and Whakatāne hospitals are having to wait twice as long as usual for orders of clinical equipment and consumable products.
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board says it is experiencing "much longer" supply lead times than before the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, according to statements obtained under theOfficial Information Act.
Before the pandemic, the hospitals would wait three to four months for orders of clinical equipment across most medical device categories. As of March 9, the wait time for those orders has doubled. Hospitals now wait six to nine months for their orders to be filled.
Supply chain issues are similarly plaguing hospitals' stocks of clinical consumable products.
Hospitals are having to build stock levels to cover at least four months of high demand. Previously stock levels needed to cover only one to two months of normal demand.
IT devices are also being delayed as a result of international shortages in processor chips.
Hospitals in the Bay are having to wait twice as long for orders of clinical equipment and consumable products. Photo / NZME
This comes as Covid-19 cases continue to rise across New Zealand and hospitalisations increase and supply chain disruption begins to affect local hospitals.
There were 931 new cases in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board yesterday and 34 people in Bay of Plenty hospitals. Nationally, there were 14,494 cases yesterday.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board senior advisor governance and quality Debbie Brown said the shortages of products had no effects on scheduling procedures and surgeries.
"Clinical support services involved in procurement, purchasing and inventory management are the most affected supply chain service areas," Brown said.
"Surgery has continued with alternative supplies."
Brown said some planned future work such as planned equipment replacements had been brought forward to account for the delays.
"Shortages have largely been avoided because processes to purchase early are in place."
Brown said doing more work earlier to meet demand for certain items placed pressure on a relatively small supply chain team.
In the Lakes District Health Board materials affected by supply chain issues include copier paper, IV nutrition and building materials. Photo / NZME
Meanwhile, a Lakes District Health Board spokesperson said supply chain issues were not affecting main medical goods or surgery supplies.
"But delays on myriad other lines that have varying impacts."
The spokesperson listed basic copier paper and IV nutrition as some supplies which were in shortage in February. Significant delays on basic building materials such as gib, steel and timber were also affecting the DHB's construction projects.
The spokesperson said supply chain shortages were "not currently affecting the operations of the hospital".
New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association president Richard Whitney. Photo / NZME
New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association president and Mercy Hospital Dunedin chief executive Richard Whitney said supply chains were absolutely "under pressure".
Whitney said there were a number of items affected including RATS and N95 masks but the shortages were not limited to personal protective equipment against Covid-19.
"Orders that we place with suppliers for consumer items will be partially filled and then back-filled later.
"A simple example would be the N95 masks which are the preferred masks in clinical settings and typically hospitals would hold two or three months' supply of that. At the moment we're at six weeks' supply with no promise from supplier [that more will come]."
Whitney said there were also some limitations on pharmaceutical supplies.
"An important point to know is we do not have access to the public hospital or the Ministry of Health supply chain stocks."
Whitney said there was "no immediate solution" to the supply chain shortage and shortages would also make it difficult to maintain staff numbers as Covid-19 cases continued to multiply.
"It is inevitable that there will be a decline in our ability to admit patients."
Whitney said eventually patients may have to endure wait times of three to four months.
Tauranga Grace Hospital general manager Janet Keys said supply shortages could slow down service delivery. Photo / NZME
Tauranga's Grace Hospital general manager Janet Keys said the hospital had sufficient stock of N95 masks and rapid antigen tests.
"We've had difficulty accessing a consistent supply of N95 mask and RAT tests over the past few weeks."
Keys said the shortages required different methodologies and reviews of protocols to work around the problem.
"If supply is erratic, screening patients prior to hospital admission in case they have been exposed to Covid-19 would be affected."
