In a powerful and urgent plea, the nation's leading health charities have confronted Health Secretary Wes Streeting with a stark reality: osteoporosis is causing a devastating and preventable surge in deaths and life-altering fractures across the UK.
The new Labour government is facing immediate pressure to tackle what campaigners are calling a "neglected crisis" within the health service. Charities have presented damning evidence showing a dramatic rise in fatalities and debilitating injuries linked to the fragile bone disease, which affects millions, predominantly older women.
A Silent Epidemic Unleashed
Recent figures reveal a terrifying trajectory. The analysis, presented to the Department of Health and Social Care, indicates that fractures caused by osteoporosis have become a public health emergency, placing an unsustainable burden on hospitals, social care, and countless families.
Many of these painful and disabling fractures are preventable with earlier diagnosis and proper treatment. Yet, patients are being failed at every turn, facing postcode lotteries for critical scanning services and lengthy delays for specialist care.
Charities Issue a Direct Challenge to Streeting
The coalition of charities has not merely highlighted the problem; they have issued a direct challenge to the new Health Secretary to act. They are demanding a radical overhaul of how the health system identifies, treats, and supports those at risk.
Their key demands include:
- Implementing a national Fracture Liaison Service coverage to ensure every single person who suffers a break is scanned for osteoporosis.
- Launching a new public awareness campaign to educate on bone health and fracture risks.
- Ending the regional disparities in access to bone density scans (DEXA) and effective drug treatments.
- Making osteoporosis a clinical priority within the NHS's core ambitions.
The Human Cost of Inaction
Behind the statistics are stories of immense personal tragedy and loss. A hip fracture is a catastrophic event for an older person, often leading to a permanent loss of independence, chronic pain, and a significantly increased risk of mortality within a year.
Campaigners argue that the human and economic cost of inaction is too high to ignore. Investing in fracture prevention and robust specialist services would not only save lives but also save the NHS millions annually in avoided surgery, lengthy hospital stays, and ongoing social care.
All eyes are now on Wes Streeting to see if the new government will heed this urgent call and make the bone health of the nation a definitive priority.
