Good news for fracture liaison services (FLS)

Secondary fracture prevention is proven to reduce fracture risk in those with a fragility fracture.

The ROS supports the development of new and existing secondary fracture prevention or fracture liaison services (FLS) to deliver best practice care for those with high fracture risk.

We do this in several ways - the publication of best practice guidelines and standards, supporting individual services with busines cases to commission new or develop existing FLS’ and through quality improvement support to ensure best practice care is delivered.

Remarkably, even through the COVID-19 pandemic, development for better fracture prevention has been achieved with the support of the charity.

Jane Raleigh, one of our Service Improvement Leads, shares two good news stories that mean more people will be able to access FLS and receive follow up in accordance with best practice standards:

“The ROS is delighted to announce the expansion of the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust FLS.   Clinical Nurse Specialist Sam Calvache Barba has now joined Cathy Churchman, an existing Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.   This development allows the service to in-reach to the trauma and orthopaedic wards, thereby reviewing patients earlier in their bone health journey.  The service is also able to assess patients from North Somerset and they have greater capacity for providing 4 and 12 month follow-ups, which had been a significant challenge previously”

“The DXA radiographers at Hinchingbrooke Hospital have worked long and hard to get a Fracture Liaison Service established at the hospital since they attended their first FLS Champions’ Summit in 2017. The ROS is therefore delighted to announce that the hospital held its first FLS clinic on the morning of July 23rd.  The service has come about as a direct result of collaboration between Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Peterborough Hospital, who are now both part of North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust.  The team offer a convenient ‘one stop shop’ service for those requiring a DXA scan, with patients seeing Anita Catterick, DXA Radiographer, for their scan and, within the same hospital visit, going on to see Hannah Jenkins, osteoporosis nurse, to discuss results and, where appropriate, treatment.”