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Health Secretary Wes Streeting saluted the Sunday Express’s Better Bones campaign as he announced the roll-out of 20 new bone scanners to ensure tens of thousands of patients are treated for osteoporosis at an earlier stage. Campaigners welcomed the new technology but urged him to go further and deliver on his pre-election pledge to end a postcode lottery which means around half of NHS trusts lack basic “fracture liaison services” to check for the potentially fatal disease when people first show up with a break.

Mr Streeting insisted the situation “has to change” as he announced the new Dexa scanners, which the Department of Health and Social Care describes as the “gold standard for diagnosing osteoporosis and assessing fracture risk”.

He said: “Too many women are suffering painful, preventable fractures because osteoporosis is diagnosed too late. That has to change. These new scanners will help thousands of patients get tested sooner, start treatment earlier and avoid the trauma of life-changing breaks. We are cutting waiting times and modernising the NHS so it works for patients – preventing illness where we can, and delivering care faster for those that need it most. I’m grateful to campaigners and to the Sunday Express for championing this issue and supporting action to improve bone health services.”

Lord Black, who co-chairs a cross-party group on osteoporosis and bone health, said: “New Dexa scanners are welcome. But these machines scan, they do not treat. “Without the right follow-up services, including medication, millions of people will continue to fall through the cracks. More than two million people across the UK are currently overlooked for treatment and left vulnerable to devastating fractures. That means avoidable hospital admissions, lost independence and, in too many cases, early death.”

He pressed for a “funded, time-bound national rollout plan for fracture liaison services”.

Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrew said: “A scan does not prevent the next fracture; a fracture liaison service does. Diagnosis without treatment is not prevention.”

The funding covers six extra scanners to expand capacity and 14 replacement machines. It follows the announcement of 13 scanners last year; more than 16,000 extra scanners were delivered in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Lesley Kay, the NHS national clinical director for musculoskeletal conditions, said: “Osteoporosis and other bone conditions can have a devastating effect on patients, so improving access to this specialist technology will make a real difference to people’s lives.”

Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, welcomed the new scanners, saying: “To ensure every scan leads to effective treatment and fracture prevention, it will now be vital to publish the implementation plan for nationwide fracture liaison services, so patients can move seamlessly from diagnosis to care.”