St Vincent’s Hospital pharmacy visit provides useful insights for upcoming tender process

HSV’s Pharmaceutical Procurement team recently visited St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne’s pharmacy department to gain a better understanding of their operations and supply challenges.

Senior Pharmaceutical Category Manager Daniel Wakeling says the visit helped the team to understand the impact of shortages and supplier performance on day-to-day operations at a large metro health service.

“It certainly emphasised the criticality of timely, accurate deliveries and the challenges that shortages can pose in terms of patient care,” says Daniel.

“We are particularly mindful of this given the recent and ongoing supply shortage of intravenous (IV) fluids.”

Daniel says it’s important for the team to experience pharmaceutical procurement from an operational perspective.

“We learned about the importance of labelling and packaging and how this guides pharmaceutical selection and use. It was also useful to understand how pharmacy staff manage shortages and inventory including ward replenishment.”

The team will use the information gathered during the site visit to guide evaluation on the Intravenous and Irrigation Solutions (IVIS) tender in the coming months. The IVIS tender was published in September, and the collective agreement is due to commence on 30 January 2026.

Chief Pharmacist at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Andrew Cording says St Vincent’s values the longstanding collaboration with HealthShare Victoria, which has consistently supported them in delivering best value for money and ensuring supply chain security for patients and staff.

“In a rapidly changing healthcare landscape, HSV’s focus on partnership and innovation helps us seize new opportunities while working together to reduce costs and strengthen the sustainability of the system,” he says.

Above image: Representatives from HSV's Pharmaceutical Procurement team, Sheerin Kaur, Janice Rodrigo and Daniel Wakeling with St Vincent’s Hospital Procurement, Formulary and Finance Pharmacist Michael Jovanovic and St Vincent’s Hospital Chief Pharmacist, Andrew Cording.