Crucial fracture clinics can mend these broken lives

THIS time last year the tireless campaigning of this newspaper scored a massive victory for one of the most overlooked groups in healthcare — people with osteoporosis.

- By Craig Jones

Half of women aged over 50 will break bones because of the condition, and a fifth of men of the same age.

But despite these huge numbers, there’s a brutal postcode lottery for treatment centres. This leaves the vast majority of sufferers unprotected, stranded on their own with bones so weak coughs and sneezes can shatter them.

Two-thirds of the 3.5 million people affected get a terribly late diagnosis, or none at all, resulting in numerous broken bones.

A year ago, on the eve of the general election, the main political parties pledged to make early diagnosis clinics Fracture Liaison Services universal, so all patients get timely access to bone strengthening medication.

Currently, these vital clinics are available only in half of NHS trusts in England, leading to 90,000 people a year falling through the gaps.

Without the clinics, they're fixed up and forgotten about in A&E, sent home without medication and completely unaware that further, more serious breaks are very likely.

Few people knew about the injustice before the Sunday Express stepped up.