Work continues to bolster health supply chain for critical products

HSV is continuing its efforts to secure the supply chain for more than 1,000 products identified as critical to Victorian health services.

The HSV Supply Chain Surety team is focused on implementing recommendations from the Critical Supplies Register (CSR) project, particularly for products with the highest risk rating.

Head of Supply Chain Surety Paul Callahan says the team is looking at several strategies to increase local supplies of stock, including a review of contract terms and conditions.

“We are looking into whether we can add critical products to existing contracts and include more suppliers on contract panels,” he says.  

“We are also working with suppliers to ensure their reporting systems are robust and we have early warnings in place for those critical products.” 

To date, the team has worked with 102 suppliers to complete supply chain risk assessments.

One of the main initiatives under review is to increase local stock of high-risk products through bulk purchases and how we finance this in a constrained funding environment, explains Paul.

“At this stage an increase in working capital is challenging to source and we are working with health services, suppliers and the department on how best this may be resolved and in what timeframe,” he says.

Led by HSV with support from Safer Care Victoria and the Department of Health, the CSR has been developed to address ongoing supply chain challenges that impact the public health system, with a focus on clinical specialties that service large patient cohorts such as cardiovascular, emergency and critical care.

The objective of the CSR is to identify and implement risk mitigation strategies that support continuity of supply for Victorian public health services.

Since 2022, the HSV Supply Chain Surety team has performed a vital role in developing the CSR concept including identifying potential mitigation strategies. The team is now working closely with our Procurement and Logistics teams on how to integrate these strategies into HSV’s end-to-end supply chain.

To contact the Supply Chain Surety team about the CSR or a supply issue, please email supplychainsurety@healthsharevic.org.au.