You may have seen recent media reports about a global shortage of bone cement, which is a material used during some surgery to fix a new joint to the bone, commonly used in hip and knee replacements. This shortage is affecting hospitals nationally and internationally, including ours.
Our teams are monitoring the situation closely and working with national suppliers and NHS partners.
Should we need to make any changes to your planned procedure, we will contact you directly. If you do not hear from us, please assume your care will continue as scheduled and continue to attend your appointments as normal
For more details, please see the FAQs below:
Heraeus Medical, a manufacturer of bone cement used in medical procedures such as emergency surgery and routine hip and knee replacements experienced a fault at their factory.
As a result, there will be an ongoing global supply disruption for the next few weeks.
The NHS has been working to secure an alternative product which could be available at short notice. A product which has very similar properties, will function in the same way and is safe - having been widely used in Europe since 2008 - has been identified and secured and should be available to NHS hospitals across the NHS soon.
Due to the global supply disruption, NHS England, The Department of Health and Social Care and the National Orthopaedic Society have asked NHS Trusts to prioritise providing procedures to patients with the most urgent clinical need to ensure there is enough supply.
This may mean that some patients with less clinically urgent needs have their care postponed, but medical teams will do their best to keep disruption to a minimum.
It is important that you continue to attend all your appointments as normal unless told otherwise by your provider.
The NHS remains open and you should also continue to use the NHS as normal for any other care you need.
Your care provider will contact you directly if your appointment is postponed. If you do not hear from them, please attend all your scheduled appointments as normal.
The NHS remains open and you should also continue to use the NHS as normal for any care you need.
Yes. This is a global supply disruption and is impacting other organisations, not just the NHS.
If you have any concerns or questions about what this means for you or your care, you should contact your care provider. They will be able to advise you.