Life-threatening hip fractures set to double without Government action - costing the taxpayer £4bn

The number of people who will suffer life-threatening hip fractures is set to double to 140,000 a year by 2060 if the Government does not take action, according to a damning report.

Campaigners say the analysis by the Royal College of Physicians shows that delays to the rollout of osteoporosis screening clinics, called fracture liaison services (FLSs), would cost the taxpayer £3.8 billion in treatment.

The Mail on Sunday launched a campaign in 2023 to expand FLS to every part of England, backed by the Royal Osteoporosis Society which estimates that 2,500 people die every year from preventable hip fractures.

The FLS aims to predict bone breaks earlier in patients’ lives with a DEXA scan – a bone density test. If signs of the bone-thinning disease are spotted, they are given bone-preserving drugs sooner, leading to fewer fractures.

Osteoporosis affects 3.5 million people in the UK, and one in two women over 50 will break a bone because of the disease.

The report by the Royal College predicts that the number of people suffering from hip fractures will double in the next 35 years as a result of an ageing population.

Research has shown that half of hip fracture patients will have suffered a previous break caused by the bone-thinning disease, which charities say would be prevented by full coverage of FLS across the UK.

In June 2024, ahead of the General Election, Wes Streeting told The Mail on Sunday that commissioning a ‘rollout plan’ for FLS would be one of his ‘first acts in post’.

Last month the now Health Secretary told the Labour Party conference: ‘We’ve got more to do to ensure the consistent roll-out of Fracture Liaison Services’.

Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, said: ‘Wes Streeting has offered to work with us to develop a plan for the rollout. We dearly want to take him up on that offer.'

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘We’re ensuring people with bone conditions get diagnosed earlier through our investment in DEXA scanners, which will provide an extra 29,000 scans every year.’