Radioisotopes: Shortages
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of appointments in (a) Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, (b) the East Midlands and (c) the UK that have been delayed due to a lack of availability of medical radioisotopes in 2025 to date.
Answered by Karin Smyth
While we do not typically hold this information centrally, the Department is aware that the number of appointments delayed related to radioisotope supply issues at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust for the period of January 2025 to May 2025 consist of:
- 68 patients delayed for a fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18 FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan;
- 48 patients delayed for a F-18 FDG, prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan; and
- 57 patients delayed across multiple nuclear medicine tests.
We do not hold the information for the East Midlands more widely, or for the United Kingdom as a whole. The Department regularly engages with suppliers, specialist clinicians, the British Nuclear Medicine Society, and the UK Radiopharmacy Group to support the continued supply of medical radioisotopes for National Health Services. The Department continues to work with the NHS and other parts of the Government to better understand future need for medical radioisotopes.
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