Tom Redfearn

It’s #WorldOsteoporosisDay!

Take #TheGreatBritishBoneCheck 🇬🇧🦴💪

An early diagnosis means you can take action to help prevent broken bones. 
Check your risk in just 3 minutes: thegreatbritishbonecheck.org.uk

It is *quiet* at the Conservative Party Conference!

I see big tobacco has lots of adverts in Westminster tube station. Worries about the upcoming Budget?

Charities urge heath secretary to act to stop deaths from fractures Delays in the rollout of screening clinics for a bone-thinning disease are putting women's lives at risk, say campaigners.

We're proud to have signed this letter coordinated by @royalosteosoc.bsky.social with concerns that plans to roll out early diagnosis services for osteoporosis - which particularly affects women - are being delayed.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...

"Thank you so much for being the most committed Minister on FLS @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social" 🙌 The Better Bones Pink Ladies are excited to see the NHS 10 Year Plan and how Wes' commitment will be turned into action. 💪🦴

Britain can't manage like this A cultural aversion to management is undermining our economy

This is very good from @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk. It does raise a question as to whether the UK could actually do with more MBAs and elite business schools. There are skills to management that can be taught.

www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk/p/britain-ca...

Gosh, Labour Party Conference tickets for charities are a massive £552 each this year; over £200 more than last year. Surely that can't be right?? @elliereeves.bsky.social

1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men will suffer a fracture due to osteoporosis. 13 new DEXA scanners = 29,000 more scans a year, which is a vital step forward - thank you @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social and the Department
of Health & Social Care for backing better bone health.

I’m a bit late to this, but this is a really interesting interview with Amanda Pritchard about the challenges and opportunities for health. The section on the determinants of health were particularly fascinating.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Osteoporosis is as costly to society as cancer A new study from the University of Southern Denmark shows that the disease costs Danish society 15 billion Danish kroner annually. Prevention could significantly reduce the economic burden.

Fascinating study from Denmark showing the societal costs of osteoporosis are as high as those for cancer. The report also notes the cost effectiveness of fracture liaison services, which aren’t widely available in 🇩🇰 . 💪🦴

www.sdu.dk/en/om-sdu/fa...

Scrapping NHSE is bold, but probably right from @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social

It was separated out from DHSC, partly, to remove the Politics from the health service, but that never happened. Instead it just removed the political power while keeping the political responsibility.

The number of applications I’ve seen with this in is embarrassing. 🚮

We recruit anonymously. I love the names our recruiting platform assigns people.

*Paid 3 month p/t internship*

Keen to learn more about the policy and public affairs world? Want to contribute to a substantive project and make a difference?

Does @royalosteosoc.bsky.social have the internship opportunity for you!

theros.org.uk/about-us/wor...

Kommunalschwimmenfreude?? 😂

A real sense of hurt and bewilderment among charities representing women’s issues for @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social following today’s NHS planning guidance. Is he still committed to his pre-election pledges?

www.thetimes.com/article/e798...

Lord Black asked a very clear question of Health Minister, Baroness Merron, about @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social's clear commitment to make rolling out fracture liaison services one of his first acts in govt. Sadly no clear answer. Really worrying.

A huge welcome to BlueSky to the fab @royalosteosoc.bsky.social!

New guidance published today by NICE talk about the use of AI in identifying osteoporotic fractures. Early diagnosis services for osteoporosis are already using AI effectively.

Rolling these services out universally, as promised by @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social, is a no-brainer.

Strong letter in today’s Observer warning of the impact of further delays to @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social self-avowed “first action on taking office” for universal fracture liaison services. Dozens of employers, business groups, medical orgs etc stand ready to help. All waiting on Wes.

Streeting urged to honour promise to end osteoporosis service postcode lottery It comes amid warnings that the condition ‘disproportionately affects women’ with the risk of ‘enormous’ costs to the economy.

National treasure Mariella Frostrup urges @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social and Andrew Gwynne MP to keep their promise on ending the osteoporosis postcode lottery while new independent research shows the condition costs employers at least £130 million every year.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/wes-...

Broken NHS promises are eroding trust in politics Wes Streeting can no longer neglect patients suffering with osteoporosis

During the campaign @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social didn’t make many specific pledges, wisely reckoning difficult choices would be coming. But one that he did make was to people with osteoporosis. He now needs to deliver on his promise.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01...

An open letter to Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, from Annette and Kieran who live with osteoporosis. The letter reads: Dear Secretary of State, Happy New Year! We hope you had a great Christmas. Ours wasn't so good because of our osteoporosis. That's why we're pinning so much hope on the promise you made to make sure people like us get the medication we need through Fracture Liaison Services (FLS). It means so much to us that you understand the unnecessary suffering caused by late diagnosis of this cruel disease. You know that half of all women aged over 50 live with osteoporosis, and a fifth of men. Without medication, bones can be shattered by a sneeze, a cough or a stumble. And broken bones lead to broken lives. Most people with osteoporosis are undiagnosed because FLS are missing in half of NHS Trusts. During the election, you promised you'd set-up FLS in all Trusts by 2030. You pledged to make the rol-out plan one of your first acts in post. At Labour Conference, you told us FLS is "a really well-evidenced form of prevention that is not just good for patients but taxpayers too". You said "we made the promise and we'll keep the promise". You're about to announce your NHS priorities for the next year. If FLS isn't on that list, then this year - and every year - another 2,500 people will die following preventable hip fractures. We’re counting on you, Wes. Please keep your word. Kieran and Annette

A strong and emotional message to @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social from his constituent, Kieran, who has severe osteoporosis, and Annette, who also lives with osteoporosis and who Wes made a promise to at Labour Party conference. 💪🦴

👇

A great starter pack for #ThirdSector / #charity people.

Now I need to find #arthritis / #MSK #Rheumatology #orthopaedics ones. Anyone any ideas?

You can have birthday parties in the House of Commons??

I see @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social is setting out his stall to Father Christmas for the upcoming NHS planning guidance. #BetterBones

Before @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social finalises the NHS priorities for 2025, we’d be grateful if he spends 5mins reading this. If we start the FLS rollout in 2025, we’ll free up 300,000 bed days by the next election and 60,000 extra surgeries. Delay and lose reduce those benefits.

Responding for the govt, Baroness Merron basically agrees with all of the points raised by Lords in the debate but offers no real signal of progress towards delivering the services @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social said would be one of his first acts in govt.

There were some very powerful contributions to this debate, with Lords recognising the benefits to patients, NHS finance and the wider economy of FLS.