Delays to global supplies of bone cement have been caused by a temporary half of production at German based company Heraues Medical's main production site following a packaging fault.
NHS Supply Chain has set up an incident team and is co-ordinating with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to manage the situation nationally but warned of production disruption for at least two months.
An NHS Supply Chain spokesperson: ‘NHS Supply Chain is working closely with Heraeus and alternative suppliers to secure available stock as a matter of urgency. Suppliers with stock are being asked to apply demand management measures to support the national stock position. Use will be prioritised in line with NHS England pathway guidance, with a particular emphasis on prioritising trauma care.
‘We are co-ordinating with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England who are managing the situation nationally.'
A Heraeus Medical company spokesperson said: ‘The well-being of our patients and the satisfaction of our customers are Heraeus Medical's top priorities. We deeply regret that there are currently delivery delays affecting our medical bone cements.
‘The background to the current situation is a failure of the packaging machine for the bone cement.
‘All products already delivered meet the highest quality standards and can be used without any concern.
‘As a result, significant supply limitations will persist at least for the next two months, while we restore supply. We apologise to our customers and to the patients affected by these consequences.
‘We are acutely aware of the considerable challenges this poses for our customers and the patients affected. Resolving this situation is our highest priority, and we are working intensively to ensure the market continues to be supplied with bone cements despite the production bottlenecks.
‘To achieve this, we are in close contact and constant dialogue with the NHS.'
