NHS secures bone cement rescue package so joint surgery can resume

The NHS says it has secured a rescue package of alternative medical cement to allow joint surgery to continue.

Last week hospitals had been told to postpone treatments, including knee and hip replacements, after the health service's main supplier encountered a major production problem.

The NHS was thought to have only two weeks' supply in stock and so was focussing on emergency patients and the most complex cases on the waiting list.

But NHS England believes the shortfall will now be covered after a new supplier was found and an existing supplier agreed to up its deliveries.

Prof Tim Briggs of NHS England said: "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 supplies around three-quarters of the bone cement used by the NHS, had to temporarily halt production at its main site in Germany last week.

It said it had experienced a critical machine failure when it was in the process of upgrading its production processes. It is expected to cause disruption to supply for two months.

The product is used in more than 1,000 operations a week, including in joint replacements and to treat older patients who have suffered falls and those with broken hips.

Currently there are 850,000 patients on the waiting list in England requiring planned treatment for their joints – the largest of any speciality.

But the NHS has now secured enough for 10 to 12 weeks' supply of bone cement from Dutch manufacturer Zimmer Biomet, with the first stocks already in the country.

One of the NHS's other suppliers – Johnson and Johnson – has said it can increase its deliveries too.

The extra supplies will also be available to hospitals in other parts of the UK which were affected too.

Fergal Monsell of the British Orthopaedic Association said: "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 said he was delighted by the breakthrough: "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."