The Health Secretary has been told ‘these delays cost lives’.
Labour is in danger of betraying older and disabled people by not honouring a pre-election pledge to roll-out simple nationwide checks for osteoporosis, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been warned. Cross-party pressure is mounting on the Government to publish its “bone plan” and bring an end to the postcode lottery which means people throughout England are missing out on diagnoses for osteoporosis.
Leading figures across the political divide are alarmed at the lack of action. They want “fracture liaison services” established in the half of NHS trusts where these are absent so people receive a check for the potentially deadly bone disease when they turn up for the first time with a fracture. Osteoporosis leads to 500,000 broken bones every year in the UK with 2,500 people dying as a result of preventable hip fractures
Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrew said: “Wes Streeting promised a comprehensive Bone Plan to eliminate the postcode lottery in osteoporosis diagnosis and care. Yet patients are still waiting, and vital opportunities to prevent fractures and save lives are being missed.
“A Conservative government would have taken the steps to help deliver a plan to put the people living with osteoporosis first. It is time for the Health Secretary to honour his commitment, publish the plan and deliver the reform our NHS and patients deserve.”
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Helen Morgan said: “Far too many people are suffering from agonising fractures because they haven’t been able to get the diagnosis and treatment they need. Every day of delay spells yet more misery and harm for people with osteoporosis.
“The Government must stop dragging its feet and roll out fracture liaison services with urgency. Breaking their promise would be a shocking betrayal of elderly and disabled people up and down the country.”
Pressure also came from Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP and medical broadcaster.
She said: “People with osteoporosis are asking for no more than was promised in the election, which was that the Bone Plan would be one of Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s first acts in post.
“These delays cost lives. Thousands of people are dying every year of broken hips which could have been easily prevented by fracture liaison services.”
In a victory for the Sunday Express Better Bones campaign ahead of last year’s election, Labour, the Tories and the Liberal Democrats all pledged to deliver universal access to the services by 2030.
Dr Sarah Jarvis is a champion of bone health (Image: -)
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson insisted the Government would deliver on its commitment, saying: “We will roll out fracture liaison services across every part of the country by 2030, as set out in our 10-year health plan.
“Patients with osteoporosis will also benefit from neighbourhood health centres across the country, bringing diagnostics, mental health, rehab and nursing to people’s doorsteps. This is part of our mission to fix the NHS, and we’re already making progress – waiting lists are falling and more patients are getting treatment within target times.
“We have also invested in 13 high-tech DEXA scanners, which are expected to provide an extra 29,000 scans so people with bone conditions get diagnosed earlier.”
