Written question asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Monday, 18 July 2011.

Health: Orthopaedics

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the proportion of non-hip fracture patients receiving bone-protecting treatments following a diagnosis of osteoporosis.

Answer: The department has taken a number of steps to improve the management of osteoporosis and fracture risk in primary care in a number of areas. These include guidance through a commissioning toolkit to support organisations' establishment of effective falls and fracture prevention and management; commissioning the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to develop clinical guidelines for hip fractures; and technology appraisals covering the primary and secondary prevention of osteoporosis. It also includes the development of a best-practice tariff which offers financial incentives to hospitals meeting quality standards for hip fracture patients (including a fracture prevention assessment) and the NHS Clinical Knowledge Summaries (formerly PRODIGY) which is aimed at healthcare professionals working in primary and first-contact care, and provides information on osteoporosis prevention and management. The department's guidance on the falls and fractures commissioning toolkit includes prevention of frailty, promotion of bone health and reduction of accidents through encouraging physical activity and healthy lifestyle and reducing unnecessary environmental hazards as one of its four intervention objectives in the context of local services for falls, falls prevention and fractures.

Secondary information