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Australia's antibiotic shortage is the worst GP has seen in 15 years

General practice doctors across Australia are raising concerns about a shortage of antibiotics, which is leaving them unable to prescribe the best medications for patients, especially in regional areas.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) rural health chair Michael Clements said GPs were struggling to prescribe common antibiotic medications, as well as other painkillers, due to low stock levels.
"This is a real, real thing," he told 9news.com.au.
"There's an antibiotic that we use quite routinely, that's now not available, meaning that we have to use the second or third best."
General practice doctors across Australia are raising concerns about a shortage of antibiotics. (I Viewfinder - stock.adobe.com)
Clements said the stock shortages were the worst he had seen since he began working as a GP 15 years ago.
"If you're in an urban area or in a city, stock shortages have less of an impact because you can shop around and go and visit different pharmacies," he said.
"In the rural and remote areas, we know that with just the one pharmacy, it can either be impossible to get access to certain medications or it could take a lot longer.
"In some cases, if the first line tablets are not available, that might mean that we do need to use intravenous drugs that does need a hospital admission."
Clements said a shortage of medication and "not being able to prescribe what's best for the patient" had become common practice among GPs in recent years.
He said manufacturers were blaming COVID-19 for supply issues but now that was not possible.
Clements said the two main reasons for the shortage were an increase in demand and the manufacturer not being able to get the basic ingredients.

Calls for long-term solutions

RACGP President Professor Karen Price said the shortage of antibiotics in Australia was a significant public health issue.
"We need to fix this problem with a long-term solution because when people go without medicines they need, it can adversely affect their health and wellbeing," Price said.
"At a minimum, security of medicinal supply chains must be reviewed by government to protect the Australian people."
A spokesperson for Health Minister Mark Butler said there was a new strategic agreement with the medicines industry in place to help protect Australians from the impact of global medicine shortages.
"In the event of a serious shortage, the TGA may also publish a Serious Scarcity Substitution Instrument (SSSI) which allows community pharmacists to substitute specific medicines without prior approval from the prescriber," the spokesperson said.
Manufacturers were blaming COVID-19 for medication supply issues. (joyfotoliakid - stock.adobe.com)
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said it was aware of the shortages of some antibiotics, including some amoxicillin medicines.
"Disruptions to the supply of Australian medicines can occur for many reasons, ranging from shortages of raw materials, batches of the medicine not meeting Australian specifications, or logistical delays including potential impacts of global events," the TGA said.
"Whilst pharmaceutical companies do their best to maintain supply through demand forecasting and stock control, situations can arise where a disruption to the supply of a medicine cannot be avoided.
"The TGA is committed to reducing the impact of medicine shortages and works collaboratively with a range of stakeholders including medicine sponsors, health professionals and wholesalers to minimise the impact on patients."
A full list of shortages can be found on TGA's website here.
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