Shock at NHS treatment of bone disease

OSTEOPOROSIS sufferer Ben Atfield has hit out at the poor treatment he received on the NHS, and says it wouldn't happen if the condition mainly affected men.

- By Jaymi McCann

After suffering with a sore back for months the businessman went to a GP, who advised him to simply take painkillers.

The severity of his illness was only discovered when an unrelated scan of his heart showed one of his vertebrae was fractured.

He says his doctor should have known he had risk factors and sent him for a bone health scan.

Instead he had to go private to get diagnosed two years ago.

Ben, 55, said: "I switched on to treatment with the NHS and the difference was just unbelievable. Osteoporosis is not prioritised.

"As a businessman, I was shocked at how appointments and follow-ups are being done. People are not talking to each other. I have since spoken to people about it and they say this is typical of the treatment of osteoporosis."

Due to his health, Mr Atfield, a business ambassador for the Royal Osteoporosis Society, was forced to step back from his recruitment firm Ellwood Atfield.