Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS trusts offer a screening programme of osteoporosis to reduce falls and fractures.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation.

The UK NSC has reviewed the evidence for screening for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and recommended that screening should not be offered. The UK NSC will review the evidence for screening again in 2016-17 as part of its three yearly review policy cycle.

A preferred approach is to target higher risk groups (post-menopausal women, those on long term steroid use and after a first fracture). Prevention, assessment and treatment is covered in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines as follows:

http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/osteoporosis

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA160

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA161

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG146

There is patient information on the management of and living with osteoporosis on the NHS Choices website:

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Osteoporosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx