We warmly welcome the new Quality Statement for Osteoporosis and Bone Health services in Wales

Commitment to delivering quality osteoporosis care for everyone will end the postcode lottery for bone fracture services

The Royal Osteoporosis Society welcomes the Welsh Government’s commitment to delivering quality standards of care for people with osteoporosis.

Wales has published a Quality Statement for Osteoporosis and Bone Health that promises to improve diagnosis and treatment at NHS Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) by meeting key performance standards to identify, treat and monitor more patients. There is also a pledge to deliver “timely” access to crucial bone scans.

FLSs are early diagnosis services for people with osteoporosis, which catch people after the first fracture and give them timely access to bone medication to prevent further broken bones. These services are also crucial for helping people stay on treatment.

Half of women and one in five men over 50 will break bones due to osteoporosis. These breaks are the fourth worst cause of disability and premature death. But they’re preventable with safe, effective medication which is highly affordable for the NHS.

In his announcement today, Jeremy Miles, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, said NHS Wales has made a “new commitment to achieve the 80/50/80 national fracture liaison service standard in Wales by 2030”.

Mr Miles has been admirably candid in recognising that this standard is not currently being met in Wales. However, the Quality Statement requires health boards to now keep “a continuous focus on achieving all key performance indicators (KPIs)”. 

Meeting these high-quality national targets is vital in ensuring patients get the care they need and deserve. These key performance Indicators (KPIs) will require health boards to identify at least 80% of the expected fragility fractures, start treatment for at least 50% of patients who would benefit, and monitor at least 80% of those who have commenced on bone treatment at 16 weeks and 52 weeks. These internationally recognised standards define what a high-quality FLS looks like.

The Royal Osteoporosis Society has worked with the Welsh Government and its partners to shape this vision for a better future for people with osteoporosis.

The Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) also welcomes the Quality Statement’s commitment to work to improve access to bone density scans using Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) services. In his statement, Mr Miles said, “timely access to Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) services is also essential”. He promised, “Over the coming 12 months to address the backlog in DXA services, improve access to scans and reporting, and invest in workforce training and development”.

Notably, the Quality Statement also commits to, “Audit and monitoring of osteoporosis and bone health services delivered by health boards to improve quality of patient care and outcomes. To be achieved via the continued participation in the Royal College of Physicians’ FLS Database audit”.

The Welsh Government is the first in the UK to deliver a Quality Statement for FLS. The ROS welcomes Mr Miles’ vision for “better care and services throughout a person’s life, especially for those people who are at the highest risk of suffering a fragility fracture”.

Figures published by the Welsh Government also show that the investment in delivering quality bone fracture services will save lives and money for the taxpayer.

Royal Osteoporosis Society Chief Executive, Craig Jones, said: “Wales was the first nation to mandate universal Fracture Liaison Services to end the revolving door of fracture patients in hospitals. Since then, there’s been admirable progress in ensuring that each Health Board has coverage. But the services have to perform to high levels of quality to be sure of catching everyone who needs them. This Quality Statement does the right thing by Welsh patients, and we look forward to supporting the Welsh NHS in achieving these important targets”.