Sunak warned slicing NHS ready lists ‘not possible’ if bones disaster not solved

The Prime Minister has made slicing the backlog one among his 5 prime priorities for this yr.

But the Royal Osteoporosis Society is warning this might be “impossible” with out much-needed motion as a result of fractures are the “second highest driver of emergency bed occupancy”.

The charity says 90,000 individuals are lacking out on important medicine and warns a whole bunch of sufferers will die unnecessarily within the coming months on account of hip fractures.

Chief government Craig Jones expects that over the following six months the nation will see “800 deaths due to hip fractures which could have been prevented” if world-class “fracture liaison services” have been in place.

He stated: “It puts us to shame that people are missing out on osteoporosis drugs because our NHS has so far fallen behind on these services.

“Without action, it’ll be impossible for the PM to deliver on his pledge to cut waiting lists.

“We need a bold Government mandate that everyone over 50 in England should be covered by FLS, just like they have in Wales. Every day we delay, we’ll see more broken lives due to fractures.”

The ROS is anxious by blended messages on the coronary heart of presidency.

It has seen a letter from Health Secretary Steve Barclay to Mr Sunak by which he states “NHS England has prioritised FLS as a key part of its elective recovery plan”.

A second letter from well being minister Will Quince to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt additionally claims NHS England is “prioritising FLS”.

But NHS England’s plan for tackling the post-Covid backlog makes no point out of fracture companies or osteoporosis.

The Sunday Express has launched the Better Bones marketing campaign in collaboration with the ROS, calling for concrete motion to save lots of and remodel lives.

We need clear commitments to £30million in extra funding every year and for everybody aged over 50 to have entry to high quality companies. We are additionally calling for the appointment of a nationwide scientific director to “lead the change” throughout every of the house nations.

Experts imagine Government motion now would save 8,000 lives over 5 years and minimize NHS spending by £665million.

The ROS’s name for higher companies is being echoed by Caroline Abrahams of Age UK.

She stated: “Bone fractures and breaks, often due to osteoporosis, blight many older people’s lives, undermining their confidence, mobility and independence.

“This is why it is so important that everyone has speedy access to an effective fracture liaison service.

“About half of all women and one in five men over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.

“We strongly support the call to improve FLS, which will ultimately help bring down NHS waiting lists and give older people who do experience a break a much greater chance of making a full recovery, even a new lease of life.”