Latest news with #fractures
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
DR SARAH JARVIS: You pledged to act, Wes... yet 2,500 have died from this preventable problem while you've sat on your hands
I've lost count of the number of people – and it's usually women – who come to my clinic after having suffered several painful fractures. Some, in their 50s and otherwise in perfect health, have stumbled and injured a wrist or cracked a rib. For others it might be their third or fourth break in a matter of months, and they're coming to me wondering why. The stories are strikingly similar. They will have been to A&E multiple times over the years, or been suffering severe back pain. And all of this will have had a devastating impact on their mood, relationships, their ability to live their lives normally and, crucially, their ability to work. It's heart-breaking to see, and as a GP I know that these issues are a red flag for a common but horrendous condition which causes bones to thin and weaken – osteoporosis. When I refer them for a DEXA scan – a type of X-ray which measures the density of bone – lo and behold, they are finally diagnosed. But in some parts of the country just getting that appointment can take up to two years. For many of the 3.5 million people diagnosed with osteoporosis in the UK, it comes too late for treatment that can help protect against loss of bone density. Many end up suffering for years, in pain, becoming increasingly disabled and shuffling into an early grave. But on Thursday, when the Government published its Ten-Year Health Plan, there was no mention of osteoporosis. Other conditions, such as HIV, cancer and diabetes, got a mention. But not this one, which affects half of all women and one fifth of men. That is why, this weekend, more than 100 of my colleagues – NHS doctors and hospital workers – have written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging him to finally make good on his pre-election commitment to prioritise early diagnosis for osteoporosis by rolling out Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) across England. These screening clinics save lives by picking up the disease early, and prioritising people for safe, effective bone-sparing drugs. Right now, only half of England's NHS Trusts have one, leading to an unacceptable postcode lottery across the country and putting people at risk. As our letter reminds Mr Streeting, plugging those gaps where FLS is absent is crucial, because delay causes harm and costs lives. The late diagnosis of osteoporosis leads to avoidable fractures, loss of independence, long-term disability and, in many cases, premature death. In the past year alone, while Mr Streeting has sat on his hands, around 2,500 people have died due to preventable hip fractures alone. He has said the rollout will happen by 2030, but this delay could mean a further 12,500 deaths which FLS could have avoided. And there will have been 74,000 preventable fractures, including 31,000 life-threatening hip fractures, which will take up to 750,000 bed days. Those are beds the NHS sorely needs. That is unacceptable, not to mention unimaginably tragic for those needlessly affected. So while Mr Streeting might say in the Ten-Year Plan he is committed to prevention, when it comes to osteoporosis that couldn't be further from the truth. It's all the more baffling because rolling out FLS is an easy win. It would cost £30 million – 1.5 per cent of the £2 billion the NHS spends annually to treat hip fractures. But studies show that a single FLS covers its cost after just 18 to 24 months – and after that saves the NHS money by reducing the number of hospital beds required for fracture patients. And Mr Streeting knows all this. When he was in Opposition, he talked about it endlessly. After the Conservative government said it would roll out FLS, he criticised it for being too slow. Then, in May 2024, he promised that should Labour win the upcoming General Election, it would fully fund them. The following month, taking a more personal tone, he went further, telling this newspaper that it would be one of his first acts in Government because a close relative had broken a hip after becoming a victim of the postcode lottery for bone-density scans. But after Labour won the Election in July, it went quiet. To add insult to injury – quite literally – he was caught on video in January mocking charities for campaigning to improve the lives of patients, sarcastically singling out the Royal Osteoporosis Society as the 'worst offender' when it came to 'lobbying' the Government. Only in February did he finally say the FLS plan would be implemented 'by 2030', but it came with no indication as to how this would be achieved. Today, even after the Ten-Year Plan has been punished, that remains the case. This ongoing failure to drive this forward is a huge blow for those yet to be diagnosed with osteoporosis – they can get access to safe, effective medication only if they're diagnosed. I know this, unfortunately, from my own personal experience with this disease. In early 2023 I asked my GP for a DEXA scan after a friend fractured a wrist and hip playing tennis. I was found to have the bones of a 90-year-old, despite then being 60 (I'm now 62), and was diagnosed with the disease. And I know I was lucky. I got the right treatment to improve my bone density – and I've still never had a fracture. Without that early knowledge, I'd have likely suffered multiple breaks by now. Every day, every week, every month this Government delays rolling out FLS, more people suffer preventable injuries – an own goal, because it then costs them more to treat them. If you have a hip fracture, you're up to eight times more likely to die within three months, and three to four times more likely to die within a year. Three quarters of those who fracture a hip never have the same level of independence. The human misery this causes is horrendous. Yet FLS would save the NHS £440 million over five years and free up 36,000 hospital beds every winter. Quite simply, this isn't something that can wait. There is the political will, Mr Streeting, but we now need an urgent way forward.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Launches Two New Plating Systems in the US
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of the 10 Best and Cheap Stocks to Buy Now. On June 19, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced the launch of two new plating systems in the United States under its VOLT platform, called Distal Radius and Proximal Humerus 3.5 Plating Systems. The systems are designed to treat the two most commonly fractured bones, which are the distal radius near the wrist and the proximal humerus near the shoulder. These injuries are common in people above 65 years old. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) designed these systems in collaboration with the Hand Expert Group from the AO Technical Commission. The new plate has a new shape that sits more distally on the bone fragments and has a less prominent profile to reduce soft tissue irritation, thereby improving the overall comfort and healing process. A smiling baby with an array of baby care products in the foreground. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) highlighted that the systems fill in a critical gap in the current treatment of fractures. The systems are now readily available across the United States. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is an international global healthcare company. The company operates through two segments including innovative medicine and MedTech. While we acknowledge the potential of JNJ as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
01-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Thousands of women suffering agonising fractures... because medics think they are 'too young' to have osteoporosis
When Michelle Clark tripped on a concrete step in November 2018 she put it down to clumsiness. But within hours, the mother-of-two was in excruciating pain and practically immobile. Hospital scans revealed Michelle, then 56, had fractured her right kneecap. Doctors applied a cast and told her to rest, expecting it to heal after eight weeks. It wasn't until almost a year later, however, when she broke her right hand while out walking her dog, that the true cause of her repeated injuries came to light. She was diagnosed with osteoporosis, the brittle bone disease that affects 3.5million Britons and causes bones to become fragile and break more easily – and affects women much more than men. However, the diagnosis didn't come from the clinicians who treated her hand. Instead, it was Michelle's children who urged her to push for a DEXA scan – a specialist bone-density test that diagnoses osteoporosis – after seeing how quickly she'd suffered a second fracture Without their intervention, Michelle, who lives with husband Jim, 68, a retired businessman, in Warwickshire, believes she could have gone undiagnosed for years – or until her next, potentially life-threatening, break. Now 62, she says she is still baffled that no medic diagnosed her sooner – even as one doctor joked she had managed to fracture a 'really difficult bone to break'. Michelle is one of tens of thousands of women in mid-life – and younger – who have endured broken bones, and years of pain and frustration, before receiving a diagnosis and treatment. The NHS recommends any adult over 50 who suffers a 'fragility' fracture – a break from a fall at standing height or less – should be assessed for osteoporosis, yet this frequently does not happen. A 2021 report by the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) found many women in their 50s and early 60s are dismissed or misdiagnosed. And the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Osteoporosis and Bone Health reported in 2023 that tens of thousands of women are missing out on timely diagnosis and treatment. One major reason cited was age bias. Clinicians often overlook osteoporosis in younger, postmenopausal women despite it being the most likely cause for fragility fractures. Michelle is speaking out as part of The Mail on Sunday's War On Osteoporosis campaign. We are calling on the Government to ensure every part of the UK is served by a specialist clinic, known as a fracture liaison service (FLS), to screen patients for the condition after a break. While FLS units are in place across every hospital in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, only around half of hospitals in England offer this vital service. Last year Health Secretary Wes Streeting vowed that one of his first acts in government would be to task the NHS with a 'rollout plan' for nationwide access to FLS units. Only in February did he say it would be implemented by 2030. Experts warn every month of inaction on fair access to an FLS puts more lives needlessly at risk. Broken bones are the fourth leading cause of disability and premature death in the UK and the second biggest cause of adult hospital admissions. Hip fractures, often caused by untreated osteoporosis, claim the lives of an estimated 2,500 Britons every year – deaths that campaigners insist are largely preventable. The condition affects men, too, but eight out of ten patients are women as a result of hormonal changes that occur during the menopause altering bone density. 'My diagnosis was a blur,' recalls Michelle. 'I knew absolutely nothing about osteoporosis and I was absolutely gobsmacked. I'm a keen walker and gym goer – suddenly I felt vulnerable and old. 'But what shocked me more was my DEXA scan showed I'd also unknowingly fractured my spine.' At 54, two years before her kneecap injury, Michelle slipped on her stairs, landing on her back. 'That fall must have been to blame for the spine fractures,' she says. 'I was in agony, but after a few days I just carried on as normal, took painkillers and learned to live with it. 'My osteoporosis was missed repeatedly. If there had been a local FLS maybe it could have been picked up before I broke another bone.' When signs of the condition are spotted in FLS, patients are given bone-preserving drugs that more than halve the risk of breaks. Experts say the FLS 'postcode lottery' is putting people at risk. In March, analysis by this newspaper found nine of the ten areas with the highest rates of over-65s with hip fractures do not have an FLS in their hospitals. 'Patients are being let down, it's completely unfair,' says Emma Clark, a professor of clinical musculoskeletal epidemiology at the University of Bristol. 'They deserve consistency – their postcode shouldn't determine the treatment they get. Patients will slip through the cracks. 'The clinics are not just about ensuring they get bone-strengthening medicines. They also give tailored diet and lifestyle support.'
