The supply of compounded chemotherapy drugs to Irish hospitals has resumed after an eight-day interruption.
Baxter Healthcare, which is the only supplier of compounded product for cancer patients in Ireland, is resuming deliveries following resolution of production difficulties, according to the HSE.
A total of 65 cancer patients were forced to reschedule their treatment over the eight days of the supply interruption, with the disruption ranging between one and seven days in each case.
Further disruptions are avoided through contingency plans that saw some hospitals compound their own chemotherapy requirements locally, and the sourcing of supplies from outside the country, the HSE said.
Inter-hospital co-operation
Hospitals worked within their groups to ensure patients were receiving treatment in a timely manner through inter-hospital co-operation, a spokeswoman said.
Staff also worked longer hours and extended ward opening to the weekends to minimise the impact on patients.
Concerns were raised last week after Baxter admitted it was suffering a “temporary supply constraint”.
Three-quarters of chemotherapy products are made at compounding units within hospitals. The rest are largely manufactured by Baxter, a US multinational that took over the only other supplier, the Irish-owned Fannin Compounding, in 2015.
Concerns have been raised over the fact that compounded chemotherapy is sourced from a monopoly supplier.
