National Audit of Fracture Liaison Services

That the Parliament welcomes the Scottish Government National Audit Programme Board’s reported support for the introduction of a Fracture Liaison Service audit; notes the reported calls for the Scottish Government to now provide funding for the audit; understands that Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) are the gold standard for fracture care and play an important role in identifying, assessing and treating osteoporosis in people over the age of 50 with a fracture; welcomes that FLS were reportedly invented in Glasgow and exported all over the world as the global standard for secondary fracture prevention; notes the concerns, reportedly highlighted by the Royal Osteoporosis Society, that, despite having FLS coverage in every NHS board, variation in these services may lead to health inequalities for patients and thousands missing out on vital osteoporosis treatment and care; further notes reports that this could be exacerbated by up to two-year-long waiting lists for essential DXA diagnostic bone scans; believes that the introduction of an FLS audit would drive significant service improvement and lead to better patient outcomes; understands that there are around 44,000 fragility fractures every year; notes reports estimating that around 180,000 people are living with undiagnosed vertebral fractures in Scotland; understands that, without identification and treatment, a person is nearly three times more likely to have a hip fracture, and five times more likely to have another vertebral fracture; further understands that the average hip fracture costs the NHS £16,500, that there are approximately 7,000 hip fractures in Scotland each year, and that this costs the NHS a total of £115.5 million annually; understands that Public Health Scotland estimates that the FLS audit will cost approximately £150,000 per year, which, it understands, is just 0.13% of the current annual hip fracture spend; further understands that the Royal Osteoporosis Society estimates that, if FLS across Scotland were to meet all clinical standards, there could be potential average annual benefits to NHS Scotland of £11.5 million in savings and a reduction of 15,000 acute hospital bed days, and urges the Scottish Government to fund the FLS audit for Scotland as a priority.