𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Campaigners say people living far from London deserve access to the life-saving protections against osteoporosis as those living in the capital. Labour has so far failed to deliver on its pre-election pledge to end a postcode lottery which means services to provide simple checks for the potentially fatal bone disease are absent in around half of NHS trusts.

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been accused of being “more focussed on unseating” Sir Keir Starmer than on rolling out fracturing liaison services (FLS) which check for osteoporosis when someone in an at-risk group turns up with a broken bone. Thousands of women and men are believed to be missing out on vital medication and the Royal Osteoporosis Society estimates 2,000 people die each year from preventable hip fractures.

Shadow Health Minister Caroline Johnson, a consultant paediatrician, visited one of the UK’s leading FLS at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, and described her anger that so many trusts still lack such services.

Describing the FLS run by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, she said: “I saw the NHS at its very best. Imperial’s fracture liaison service is providing world class care, diagnosing osteoporosis early and helping patients avoid the next, often devastating, fracture.”But I left impressed and angry in equal measure, because while some patients receive this standard of care, hundreds of thousands of others are still being failed by a postcode lottery the Government promised to end.”

Claiming the Government had repeated its promise to deliver universal FLS on more 60 occasions, she warned that patients “need action, a timetable and the funding to deliver it”.

She added: “The Government promised results, but on Fracture Liaison Services all they have delivered is delay and disappointment. Patients need the Government to stop repeating the commitment and start delivering.”

The Royal Osteoporosis Society warns that without early diagnosis, people “suffer a cascade of devastating broken bones, such as spine and hip fractures”. It claims “one in two women and one in five men over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis”.

Dr Johnson has urged new Health Secretary James Murray to deliver on the pledge first made in the run-up to the July 2024 election.

She said: “I feel for the current Health Secretary. His predecessor was more focused on unseating the Prime Minister, and he is left to pick up the pieces. “However, despite our political differences, I do have hope.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This Government remains committed to rolling out fracture liaison services by 2030, as set out in our 10-year health plan and the women’s health Strategy. In the meantime, we’re investing in 20 new state-of-the-art DEXA scanners across the country, building on the first wave of 13 last year.
“The new machines will help diagnose fragile bones earlier and prevent painful, life-changing fractures – particularly among older people and women, who are disproportionately affected by osteoporosis.”