Tens of thousands of patients with osteoporosis will be diagnosed faster thanks to government plans to boost the number of bone density scans.
In a boost to the Mail on Sunday’s War on Osteoporosis campaign, £2million will be set aside or NHS Trusts to buy new ‘Dexa’ scans to diagnose bonde density.
This funding will enable around 29,000 additional scans to be carried out per year, the Department of Health said.
More than 56,000 people are currently waiting for Dexa scans. More than 3 million people are estimated to have osteoporosis in the UK.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘As the Mail on Sunday’s campaign has shown, painful and debilitating fractures can be life-altering.
‘That is why this Government is spearheading the battle against cruel conditions like osteoporosis.
‘We are funding the roll-out of vital cutting-edge scanners so more patients are diagnosed earlier and treated quicker.
‘Through our Plan for Change we will cut waiting lists and end hospital backlogs, including for fracture patients, so more people get their lives back.’
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has backed the Mail on Sunday’s campaign and said that the Government is ‘spearheading the battle’ against osteoporosis
In a boost to the Mail on Sunday’s War on Osteoporosis campaign, £2million will be set aside or NHS Trusts to buy new ‘Dexa’ scans to diagnose bonde density (stock image)
Campaigners welcomed the announcement but urged the government to go further and rollout Fracture Liaison Services – the gold standard in early diagnosis of osteoporosis – to all NHS Trusts.
Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, said: ‘Dexa without Fracture Liaison Services is like a smartphone without internet connection.
‘We’ll have the scans, but we won’t have the specialists to interpret them or the drug therapies to prevent fractures.’
