Medical authorities have been urged to directly contact thousands of Australians with medical implants at risk with the looming shutdown of the 3G network.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) fears up to 200,000 medical implant recipients could be unaware of the health threat posed by the network shutdown on October 28.
ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett said many people were unaware that devices like insulin pumps, heart rate monitors and personal safety alarms may be impacted by the shutdown of 3G networks by Telstra and Optus.
“It is a major health risk,” Ms Bennett said.
“Medical devices are poorly regulated in Australia, they fall far short of pharmaceutical regulation even though they involve implanting equipment into people’s bodies. This has led to some catastrophic failures historically around surgical mesh, breast implants and ASR hip implants.”
Ms Bennett said it was not acceptable for manufacturers to fail to maintain appropriate records or contact patients when there were device failures or a risk of failure.
“The Therapeutic Goods Administration should require medical device manufacturers and their agents to take urgent action to alert consumers to these changes and put in place penalties for non-compliance.
“The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) should also alert medical practitioners of the changes so they can ensure they can manage appropriate medical care where medical and safety equipment is being used to manage health conditions.”
Ms Bennett said ACCAN was also concerned people that would no longer be able to use some phones to contact 000 after October.
“The interim findings of the Senate Committee which looked into the 3G shutdown, released in August, found that up to 380,000 mobile phones may be unable to make regular calls or reach triple zero emergency services when the nation’s 3G networks was due to be switched off,” she said.
“ACCAN looks forward to collaborating with industry, government and the community sector to deliver vital messages to consumers.”
