Campaigners Launch Blitz Accusing Health Secretary of 'Betraying' Osteoporosis Patients
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is facing fierce accusations of betraying patients suffering from painful fractures, as campaigners launch a major advertising campaign to hold him to a key election promise. The Royal Osteoporosis Society is initiating a drive, starting with an advert in the Daily Mirror and expanding to bus stations and the London Underground, demanding Mr Streeting end delays in rolling out specialist fracture prevention clinics across all NHS hospitals in England.
Broken Pledge on Osteoporosis Clinics
Before Labour came to power in 2024, Mr Streeting pledged to make the rollout of Fracture Liaison Services one of his first acts as Health Secretary, labelling previous Conservative delays as a "betrayal of patients." These clinics are designed to check patients for osteoporosis, a condition that causes bones to become fragile and break easily, often leading to devastating fractures from simple movements like a cough or hug. However, two years into the government's term, not a single additional clinic has been established, despite over 60 public recommitments to the policy by ministers.
Devastating Human and Financial Cost
The failure to act is having severe consequences. Osteoporosis affects approximately 3.5 million people in Britain, resulting in over 500,000 fragility fractures annually. Half of women over 50 and a fifth of men will suffer such fractures, with broken hips proving fatal for more than a quarter of patients within a year. The Royal Osteoporosis Society estimates that 2,000 people die each year from preventable hip fractures, and since Labour took office, an estimated 4,000 deaths have occurred that these clinics could have averted.
TV doctor Dr Sarah Jarvis emphasised the urgency, stating, "Over 2,000 lives are at stake every year, so delay costs lives." The society also highlights a postcode lottery, where two-thirds of people with osteoporosis miss out on effective medication due to a lack of diagnostic clinics in half of NHS Trusts.
Financial Implications and Policy Failures
The financial toll is staggering. Preventable fractures have cost the NHS and social care an estimated £150 million, more than double the expense of implementing the clinics. Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, warned, "Every year ministers wait, another 2,000 people face a premature death after a devastating hip fracture these clinics can easily prevent." To meet a government pledge of clinics at every NHS trust by 2030, 24 trusts should already be covered, but progress is nonexistent.
A full rollout could prevent 74,000 fractures over five years and free up 750,000 NHS bed days, offering significant relief to overstretched health services. The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for comment on these allegations, as campaigners ramp up pressure to turn promises into action and save lives.
