Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish data relating to the number of surgeries affected by delays to the supply of Heraeus bone cement.

Joined up working between the Department and the National Health Service has successfully secured an alternative bone cement product for the coming weeks following the issues with Heraeus Medical’s production process. During this period, NHS providers were supported to prioritise remaining stock based on clinical guidance.

The Department has not collected data on the specific number of procedures delayed due to this supply issue centrally. Due to the speed by which alternative products have been identified the number of procedures postponed has been limited and where this has happened, trusts are seeking to reschedule affected procedures quickly.