About the National Blood Supply Contingency Plan (NBSCP)

The National Blood Supply Contingency Plan was officially launched by the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing the Hon Senator McLucas at a national conference sponsored by the NBA in Sydney on 6 November 2008 (Media Release , Speech , Speech 6.98MB).

The NBSCP consists of a main document that outlines the risk management approach taken to assessing the possible problems, governance arrangements and the broad overarching strategies in place to mitigate a supply or demand crisis. The Plan also aims to improve awareness and ensure appropriate planning is in place for dealing with the impact of blood crises in the health sector.

This main document is supported by a range of response annexes to guide key stakeholders in responding to a supply or demand crisis.

Annex A Red blood cell response plan
Annex B Plasma-derived and recombinant product response plan

The overarching response involves three levels of accountability:

National – which covers the roles of national government bodies such as the NBA and TGA in gathering and communicating information between governments and suppliers and being the link to broader government emergency management arrangements;
Operational – which covers the role of suppliers in managing required operational activities around collection, manufacture, distribution and interface with the clinical community; and
Clinical – which covers the role of clinicians and pathology providers in reducing demand through strong triage and vetting processes based on clinical needs.

The response by the clinical community is a key and vital element of the plan. It is important that institutions have in place arrangements to support the clinical management of blood and blood products in a crisis and to assist clinicians in responding to patient requirements in the most effective manner.

Two quick reference guides have been developed to assist the clinical community understand their important role and responsibilities and to guide them in developing an approach to prioritising red cell transfusions.

Quick Reference Guide: Clinical Community – roles and responsibilities
Quick Reference Guide: Guidance for prioritisation of red blood cell transfusion

Download the NBSCP

Feedback | Privacy | Copyright | Disclaimer | Contact Us