NHS Secures Alternative Bone Cement to Resume Joint Surgery
The NHS has announced it has secured a rescue package of alternative medical bone cement, enabling joint surgeries to continue after a major supply disruption.
Last week, hospitals were instructed to postpone treatments such as knee and hip replacements following a significant production issue at the NHS's primary bone cement supplier.
At that time, the NHS reportedly had only a two-week supply remaining, prompting a focus on emergency patients and the most complex cases on waiting lists.
However, NHS England now believes the shortage will be addressed after identifying a new supplier and an existing supplier agreeing to increase deliveries.
"This shortage has been extremely concerning for patients and surgeons and we are delighted the NHS has now been able to secure this 'rescue package' of alternative bone cement to ensure trauma and elective care can continue across the country."
Heraeus Medical, which provides approximately 75% of the bone cement used by the NHS, temporarily halted production at its main German facility last week due to a critical machine failure during an upgrade of its production processes. This disruption is expected to affect supply for two months.
The bone cement product is utilized in over 1,000 operations weekly, including joint replacements and treatments for older patients who have suffered falls or broken hips.
Currently, there are 850,000 patients on waiting lists in England for planned joint treatments, the largest number for any specialty.
The NHS has now secured a 10 to 12-week supply of bone cement from Dutch manufacturer Zimmer Biomet, with initial stocks already delivered to the UK.
Additionally, Johnson and Johnson, another NHS supplier, has committed to increasing its deliveries.
The additional supplies will also be distributed to hospitals across other parts of the UK affected by the shortage.
"The alternative bone cement has been widely used since 2008 and has been assessed by surgical experts who confirm that it has the same chemical components and material properties.
Patients can therefore be reassured that it this will not affect the outcome of their surgery."
Health Minister Zubir Ahmed expressed satisfaction with the resolution:
"This government's top health priority is cutting NHS waiting lists – and while it's good news that disruption has been minimised, our focus is now on rescheduling those procedures that were postponed."
