TV’s John backs osteoporosis bid

John Stapleton

DIGGLE-born TV presenter John Stapleton has thrown his weight behind a national campaign to improve services for osteoporosis sufferers.

The GMTV host, who used to be an Oldham Evening Chronicle reporter, and his wife, National Osteoporosis Society patron Lynn Faulds Wood, have called on their MP to boost services for people who have broken bones because of the condition.

The society has sent a postcard to its 25,000 members and is asking each person to send the postcard on to their MP.

They call for politicians to force their local health services to put into place guidelines that could prevent unnecessary deaths as a result of fragility fractures.

The charity has also made letters available on its website so that non-members can add their support to the campaign.

Health guidelines state that Fracture Liaison Services should be available for all fracture patients but in reality these services are scarce and vary in quality.

Patients at risk of fractures are not identified and go on to break further bones instead of getting the preventative measures they deserve.

There are around 230,000 osteoporotic fractures every year in the UK and around 1,150 people die every month as a result of hip fractures which are the commonest cause of accident-related deaths in old people.

Despite the proven success of Fracture Liaison Services only 31 percent of NHS Trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland currently have them.

The National Osteoporosis Society has called for a Fracture Liaison Service to be linked to every hospital in the UK to ensure that every person who breaks a bone because of osteoporosis gets the treatment and care they need.

The charity is urging everyone to get behind the campaign by visiting www.nos.org.uk