Labour faces pressure after ‘failing to deliver on 60 new bone clinics’
Labor ministers are facing increasing pressure to deliver on promises to end the ‘postcode lottery’ in treating bone fractures and save thousands of lives a year.
Campaigners are backing plans to change the law to force the Government to ensure the whole of England and Wales is covered by appropriate NHS services for osteoporosis.
Following a campaign by The Mail and the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) on Sunday, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting made a pre-election pledge to deliver universal fracture contact services by 2030.
But ROS claims Ministers have failed to make any progress on the provision of 60 new ‘Fracture Liaison Services’ (FLS) clinics to treat osteoporosis.
Now ROS and other campaigners are backing Tory plans to amend the Government’s own Health Bill to enshrine the roll-out of clinics in law and require Ministers to publish an annual progress report on it.
ROS chief executive Craig Jones said: ‘With 2,000 people dying every year from fractures prevented by these clinics, the risk could not be higher.
‘Two years on from the government’s commitment to roll out nationwide, patients are still waiting to see a delivery plan, funding arrangements or milestones for progress.’
Conservative MP and hospital consultant Caroline Johnson, who tabled the amendment, challenged Ministers to stick to their previous promise to ‘believe patients’.
Ahead of the election, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured on 16 June 2026) pledged to introduce universal fracture contact services by 2030
He said: ‘Labour has promised universal, high-quality broken contact services by 2030.
‘If ministers are serious about keeping their promises, they will have no difficulty supporting this change.’
Last month the Daily Mail’s Ruth Sunderland was honored with an OBE after leading a campaign to improve the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis patients.
He was diagnosed with bone disease after an accident while preparing for a half marathon in 2023.
On Saturday, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman insisted the Government ‘remains committed to introducing fracture contact services by 2030 as set out in our 10 Year Health Plan’.
But DHSC also said it was taking action in the meantime by investing in 20 new state-of-the-art ‘DEXA scanners’ across the country, in addition to the 13 scanners installed last year.
The scanners will ‘help diagnose brittle bones earlier and prevent painful, life-changing fractures’.
