Health Board Statement on the National Bone Cement Shortage
There is currently a global shortage of bone cement affecting the NHS nationally following a manufacturing issue at the production facility of one of the main suppliers of the material.
Bone cement is essential in a wide range of emergency and planned orthopaedic surgical procedures and as a result of this shortage, we are anticipating disruption to some planned joint replacement operations.
Across Wales, we have been asked to prioritise those patients who are in the most urgent need to ensure that emergency surgery can continue safely. As a result, all planned (elective) joint replacement operations in Wales which require the use of cement are being paused temporarily.
This allows the Health Board to:
- Prioritise trauma and clinical urgent surgery which cannot be delayed safely
- Safeguard limited cement supplies for patients with the greatest clinical need
- Ensure that clinicians have the right materials and safe conditions to carry out essential procedures
It is important to note that not all orthopaedic operations require the use of bone cement, and these will continue to be carried out where possible.
We will be working closely with other Health Boards in Wales, and the Welsh Government to manage this situation.
We appreciate the concern that this may cause for patients, particularly those who have already waited a long time for their surgical procedure. We hope patients will understand the essential steps we are taking to ensure limited stocks are available for those in the most urgent need.
We will be contacting all patients whose procedures have been affected directly to explain the next steps.
If you have not been contacted by the health board, please assume that your operation will be continuing as expected.
Whilst this situation is beyond our control we apologise for the inconvenience caused and are working hard to minimise the impact and return to normal service as soon as possible.
19/02/2026