Australian Government
Department of Health
Therapeutic Goods Administration
What is the TGA's role in a recall action and what has TGA done for this issue?
A recall action should not commence in Australia until the proposed action and communication are agreed to by the TGA. We give this agreement when we are satisfied that the action effectively mitigates the risks posed by an issue with a therapeutic good.
As part of our assessment, we often seek expert medical or scientific advice. Shortly after this recall action was announced, we convened our Ventilator Expert Working Group, comprising state and territory health officials, external independent clinicians, biomedical engineers, and peak health professional bodies such as the Australasian Sleep Association. The Working Group provides feedback on the appropriateness of the actions and communications from both the TGA and Philips.
After a recall commences, we monitor its effectiveness to ensure all affected product is fixed or removed from the market where this is needed. In some instances, further investigations or enforcement actions may also occur.
https://www.tga.gov.au/alert/philips-rec...entilators
Note: This complete article and link were posted here several weeks ago. I just went back and read it more thoroughly today.
We can see hear all the proactive measures the TGA has taken to fulfill its responsibilities to its citizens.
We have not seen any of these measures undertaken by our own FDA, who seem to have relied totally on the input they have received from Philips. Maybe they have done more, but you would think considering the seriousness of this problem they would have wanted to notify everyone asap.