Written question asked by Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Tuesday, 12 July 2011.

Health: Orthopaedics

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the provision of fracture prevention services in England following the 2010 national audit of falls and bone health in older people.

Answer: The department has taken a number of actions to improve outcomes on fragility fractures including issuing guidance in the form of a commissioning toolkit to support organisations' establishment of effective falls and fracture prevention and management. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence issued clinical guidelines for hip fractures in June 2011 that were commissioned by the department. The department has also introduced a best practice tariff which offers financial incentives to hospitals meeting quality standards for hip fracture patients (including a fracture prevention assessment). The department's Fragility Fractures Programme, established by the National Clinical Director for Trauma Care, seeks to improve the outcome for patients suffering fragility fractures by driving a consistent approach to fracture prevention services that will lead to a reduction in falls and future incidences. It is working to align services across the sector to deliver high quality, cost effective integrated care, with the ambition of discharging people to their last place of residence through good recovery, rehabilitation and reablement.

Secondary information