A critical shortage of IV fluids has hit the Australian health system with “very little warning” and could eventually impact non-cancer elective surgery.

The current shortage, which initially affected one brand of 500mL IV sodium chloride 0.9% IV bags, has since extended to all three Australian suppliers and multiple volumes of saline and Hartmann’s solution (sodium lactate).

Despite being a saltwater solution, Professor David Story said manufacturing the millions of litres of saline solution used in Australia each year was a huge undertaking.

“Nothing that’s in the solution is a particularly unusual substance to lay hands on, so it’s a little unclear what the supply problems are … [but] you need ultra-pure water and ultra-pure chemicals,” the president of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists said.