The Royal Osteoporosis Society, a leading health charity backed by Queen Camilla, has written to the UK Statistics Authority to complain that the Labour Government is using bogus figures to claim progress on expanding specialist bone disease clinics across England.
The charity said ministers have presented a deeply misleading picture of access to Fracture Liaison Services, which remain available in only around half of NHS trusts despite a key pre-election commitment to achieve universal coverage by 2030.
The formal complaint to the official statistics watchdog follows recent statements in Parliament by health ministers Gillian Merron and Karin Smyth. Baroness Merron told the House of Lords last month that 23 out of 25 Integrated Care Boards in England now feature Fracture Liaison Services, while Mrs Smyth informed MPs that 92 per cent of the country is covered.
However, the Royal Osteoporosis Society highlighted that there has been no meaningful increase in physical services for patients. The charity stated that the figures cited by ministers rely entirely on the redrawing of NHS administrative boundaries rather than the establishment of new clinic facilities.
Ruth Wakeman, a director at the Royal Osteoporosis Society, criticized the Government's representation of the rollout. "Redrawing the lines on an NHS map does not create new services or give patients meaningful new access to care," Wakeman said. "Patients have been given a deeply misleading picture of progress."
Dispute Over NHS Boundary Changes
Consultant Dr Madhavi Vindlacheruvu, of Cambridge University Hospitals and chairman of the East of England Fracture Liaison Service Network, supported the charity's findings. "Redrawing NHS boundaries does not create a single new Fracture Liaison Service," Dr Vindlacheruvu stated.
The charity is urging Health Secretary Yvette Cooper to correct the parliamentary record. Lord Black, who co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Osteoporosis, has also written to MPs and peers to protest the Government's misleading figures. The growing row threatens to cause political embarrassment for Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
The Royal Osteoporosis Society and The Mail on Sunday have conducted a joint campaign since 2024 demanding that the Government fulfill its pledges regarding Fracture Liaison Services. Before the 2024 General Election, then-shadow health secretary Wes Streeting declared that expanding these clinics nationwide would be one of his first acts in government.
Fracture Liaison Services operate directly within NHS trusts to assess and diagnose patients for osteoporosis immediately after they suffer an initial bone fracture. The charity estimates that nationwide deployment of these specialized clinics could save thousands of lives and prevent up to 74,000 broken bones over five years.
Background on Osteoporosis Care
Osteoporosis is a severe medical condition characterized by weakening bone density, leaving affected individuals vulnerable to fragile, life-changing fractures. The condition affects approximately 3.5 million people across the United Kingdom, with women comprising the majority of sufferers.
In response to the accusations, the Department of Health and Social Care reiterated its long-term policy stance. "This Government remains committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services by 2030," a spokesperson for the department said. "We're also investing in 20 new state-of-the-art DEXA bone density scanners."
