Decision to list medical devices

Hospital devices Decision

We are pleased to announce the approval of listing agreements with W M Bamford and Co Limited, Teleflex Medical New Zealand and Downs Distributors Limited for medical devices.

What we are doing

We are pleased to announce the approval of listing agreements with W M Bamford and Co Limited ("W M Bamford"), Teleflex Medical New Zealand ("Teleflex") and Downs Distributors Limited ("Downs") for medical devices.

Supplier

Category of Medical Device

W M Bamford and Co Limited (“W M Bamford”)
  • Surgical suction, chest and wound drainage
  • Obstetrics and gynaecology

Teleflex Medical New Zealand (“Teleflex”)
  • Surgical suction, chest and wound drainage

Downs Distributors Limited (“Downs”)
  • Obstetrics and gynaecology
  • Endomechanical and electrosurgical

In summary this will result in:

  • medical devices from the suppliers, and in the categories, listed above being listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 September 2019 under individual national agreements that all DHB hospitals may purchase under (“Agreements”); and
  • DHB hospitals continuing to be able to purchase other suppliers’ brands of medical devices in the categories of:
    • surgical suction, chest and wound drainage;
    • obstetrics and gynaecology; and
    • endomechanical and electrosurgical.

Any changes to the original proposals?

This decision was subject to the following consultation letters:

There were no changes to the provisional agreements following consultation.

Who we think will be most interested

  • DHB staff:
    • Obstetricians and gynaecologists
    • Clinical/Biomedical Engineers
    • Sterile services staff
    • Outpatient clinic staff
    • Surgeons
    • Perioperative staff
    • Surgical speciality units, gynaecology and general ward staff
    • Delivery suite staff
    • Midwives
    • Procurement and supply chain personnel
  • Suppliers and Wholesalers

Detail about this decision

In 2018 PHARMAC issued Request for Proposals (“RFPs”) for:

The RFPs were for non-exclusive national agreements for listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

After completing the RFP evaluation processes and consulting on the provisional agreements reached with W M Bamford, Teleflex and Downs, PHARMAC has decided to list the medical devices in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 September 2019.

The list of products will be available on PHARMAC's website from 1 September 2019, in both a PDF document and an Excel spreadsheet.

DHBs that purchase medical devices in these categories, from the suppliers listed above, must do so under the terms and conditions, and at the prices included in the Agreements, from 1 September 2019. DHBs can continue to choose which surgical suction, chest and wound drainage products, obstetrics and gynaecology products and endomechanical and electrosurgical products they purchase.

Our response to what you told us

We appreciate the time people took to respond to the consultations.

A summary of the main themes raised in feedback and our responses to the feedback received are set out below:

Theme

PHARMAC Staff Comment

W M Bamford, Teleflex and Downs agreements

 

Ministry of Health

Feedback that no technical or resource impacts are expected as a result of the proposals. 

 

Noted
 Downs agreement  

DHB Procurement Manager

Concern regarding the shelf-life for the products proposed under this agreement  

PHARMAC staff acknowledge that the shelf-life is shorter than the DHBs preferred 12-months.

In discussions with the supplier, Downs indicated that the products would typically be supplied with 6-months representing a minimum and reflects what is currently in place in regards to their supply to DHBs. 

If you have any questions about this decision, you can email us at enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz; or call our toll free number (9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday) on 0800 66 00 50.