Hip patients exposed to ‘intolerable’ circumstances

The Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee says they were shocked by the intolerable and unacceptable experiences of patients who received the DePuy hip and hip resurfacing system. 

The Committee has reported on the Inquiry into the Regulatory Standards for the Approval of Medical Devices.

"There are approximately 5500 Australians who have received the DePuy or ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement and their experiences were a major focus of the Inquiry," Committee chairperson, Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

"We were shocked by some of the experiences patients have had as a result of the devices.

"This has included pain, multiple surgeries, extended hospital stays, financial loss and personal anguish.

“Clearly, more needs to be done to protect patients from the dangers of medical devices such as these.

"The Committee has recommended improvements to the regulation of medical devices by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, increasing the rigour of regulatory assessment of higher risk medical devices.

"Our report contains 18 recommendations to improve patient safety and I encourage the Government, Department of Health and Ageing and TGA to take these recommendations on board," Senator Siewert concluded.

Click Here to read the report.