A MAJOR US company which produced faulty artificial hips given to more than 93,000 people worldwide, including 3,500 Irish patients, has been heavily criticised after it insisted any refunds or covered repair surgery costs are dependent on the equipment being returned to the firm.

The HSE has started the process of identifying patients who received a hip replacement using a product which has now been recalled.

THE manufacturer of faulty hip replacement parts being recalled worldwide said it will refund any of the costs associated with testing and treatment, including corrective surgery.

AROUND 3,500 Irish patients received a replacement hip system which is now being recalled worldwide because of its high failure rate.

US FIRM DePuy Orthopaedics has promised to cover the costs of any medical treatment needed by patients who received potentially faulty hip implants manufactured by the company, which are the subject of a voluntary global recall.

SERIOUS concerns about hip implant parts which are the subject of a worldwide recall by their manufacturer, DePuy Orthopaedics, have persisted for a number of years, with critics claiming there is a design flaw in the products.

The Irish Medicines Board has said it has received reports about 12 incidents connected with hip implants which have been recalled.

Thousands of hip replacement patients could face scans, blood tests or surgery amid fears they were fitted with a faulty product, health bosses said today.

Irish patients who have had hip replacement surgery may have to undergo the procedure again because of a fault with the device.