The difficulty of buying hospital supplies is yet another obstacle in the fight against the Covi-The difficulty of buying hospital supplies is yet another obstacle in the fight against the Covi-19 pandemic. According to a research by Bionexo, which acts as a link between hospitalsand more than 10 thousand suppliers, of the hospital supply marketplace, the search formasks and alcohol gel tripled in March. The increase in demand for these items was of240% and 216%, respectively.

Not even importation has proven to be an effective solution. There is an actual global war inthe search for these supplies, and not even the countries with enough funds to cover thehigh costs seem to be able to consolidate their purchases. One reasons for this is that theworld’s manufacture of these items is concentrated in just a few countries. Face masks, forexample, usually come from China, South Korea, and Malaysia, whose production chainshave also been affected by the pandemic. More than 80% of the face masks used in Brazilare imported from Asia.

The risk of shortage is real for hospitals all over the country, including private ones that offerThe risk of shortage is real for hospitals all over the country, including private ones that offercare for the middle and upper classes. In mid-March, a study conducted by the NationalAssociation of Private Hospitals (ANHP) found that the average stock of hospital supplies inpartner institutions from all over Brazil was only enough for 47 days. The same associationrecorded a high of more than 500% on the prices of the products needed.

The shortage of hospital supplies has also reached Fiotec with regard to the acquisition ofproducts and pieces of equipment for the projects it supports. The purchasing staff of theinstitution has noticed an increase in prices, low stocks at suppliers, and difficulties for evensmall purchases which used to be carried out on the spot before the pandemic, sinceeverything that is considered to be non-essential is closed.

The daily search for new supplies is one of the measures implemented in order to minimizethe impacts of this shortage on the results of the projects. Although all professionals areteleworking, Fiotec’s teams keep on working full time to meet the demands of all supportedprojects, and not only of those aimed at fighting the coronavirus.

Information from the exame.abril.com portal.