Infusion fluids, commonly known as drips, are used in healthcare to provide fluids and nutrients directly into a patient's bloodstream.
But it's essential to become more restrictive immediately, says the Director of the Medical Products Agency, Veronica Arthurson.
Thousands of packages will not be delivered as planned during November.
Redistribute between regions
The regions work according to an agreement that they need to have approximately a month's consumption of drips in stock. However, the availability across the country looks very different.
Some regions have stock to last a month - others for much shorter periods, says Veronica Arthurson.
The uneven availability means that there may be a need to quickly redistribute products between regions, she continues.
According to the situation report, it is primarily the availability of drips in November that may be affected.
If there is a critical shortage and products are lacking nationally, we must prioritize which type of care should be prioritized, it's about less acute surgery first.
The products are expected to arrive at the end of November or the beginning of December, according to the Medical Products Agency.
"Major consequences"
The reason for the problems is that the largest manufacturer, Baxter, was forced to close a factory after Hurricane Helene hit southeastern USA at the end of September. The company has also had to make reprioritizations after the floods in Spain.
It's really alarming and it also shows that it's enough for one factory to have production problems, and then deliveries are affected worldwide and also to Sweden, says Minister of Health Acko Ankarberg (KD).
She emphasizes the importance of the ongoing work on the EU's pharmaceutical legislation to reduce vulnerability.
It's crucial for maintaining competitiveness, so that we have both research and production in Europe. We don't always have that, says Ankarberg.
It's very fragile within the entire pharmaceutical industry today. Small disruptions have major consequences.
