Removal of desflurane from clinical use in public hospitals in Western Australia

08 September 2023

The Western Australian Therapeutic Advisory Group and the Western Australian Drug Evaluation Panel have endorsed the delisting of Desflurane from the WA Statewide Medicines Formulary.

In a major milestone in environmental sustainability in healthcare, WA Health is the first Australian jurisdiction to formally remove desflurane from clinical use in public hospitals. The Western Australian Therapeutic Advisory Group (WATAG) and the Western Australian Drug Evaluation Panel (WADEP) have endorsed the delisting of Desflurane from the WA Statewide Medicines Formulary (SMF) in line with the PS64 Guideline ANZCA Position statement on environmental sustainability in anaesthesia and pain medicine practice 2019, the Statement on Desflurane by the Sustainable Development Unit and the recommendations from the Climate Health WA Inquiry which were endorsed by Government in 2020.