Update over knee & hip replacement worry for Lancashire patients - latest on bone cement shortage
Lancashire patients worried they might have knee and hip replacements postponed have been issued with an update.
Because of an international shortage of bone cement - used in surgeries involving fixing a new joint to the bone - NHS England, The Department of Health and Social Care and the National Orthopaedic Society last week asked all Trusts to prioritise providing procedures to patients with the most urgent clinical need to ensure there was enough supply.
Hosptials across the country - including East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT)- announced they might have to contact people for changes to scheduled operations.
What happened?
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. It said it had experienced a critical machine failure when it was in the process of upgrading its production processes and expected a disruption to supply for two months.
Currently there are 850,000 patients on the waiting list in England requiring planned treatment for their joints – the largest of any speciality.
What’s the update?
But now, the issue has been “resolved”, the NHS England told Iconic Media.
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. Another NHS suppliers – Johnson and Johnson – has also said it can increase 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.”
The product is used in more than 1,000 operations a week, the BBC reported.
Local trusts
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - which runs the Royal Preston and Chorley Hositals, and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, have both been asked for information on their circumstances.
ELHT issued advice stating: “If you do not hear from them, please attend all your scheduled appointments as normal.”
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