Published on: 20 February 2026
This update is for our patients coming in for a planned joint replacement.
You may have seen on the news that the NHS is facing a shortage of bone cement. This is because of a problem with the national supply chain. It is a global issue.
This means there may be disruption to planned operations over the coming weeks. Our surgeons use bone cement to fix artificial joints to living bone. Because of the shortage, we must use the cement we have left for emergencies like broken hips.
The Trust will contact you if we need to postpone your planned operation. If you haven’t heard from us, please come to hospital for your operation as planned. There is no need to call us, we will contact you if there is any change to your planned operation.
The Trust may also be in touch with other patients at short notice to come in if their procedure does not require bone cement.
We know this will be a worrying time and we are sorry about this. If we do need to postpone your operation we will rearrange this as a matter of priority as soon as we can.
Please note: There is no impact on any other services. We will provide further updates as soon as we are able. This update is for our patients coming in for a planned joint replacement.
