Chamber and committees

The International Osteoporosis Foundation is an organisation which brings together voluntary sector support and lobbying groups from 84 countries. The Executive has no direct contact with it. The Executive does not manage or issue advice on the management of osteoporosis directly. The organisations which are funded to do so would be likely to turn to the UK National Osteoporosis Society for patient input, as for example the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network did when preparing good practice clinical guidelines on the prevention and management of hip fractures in elderly people and on the management of osteoporosis. The National Osteoporosis Society is a member of the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

We have not asked each health board to explain their understanding of the definition of an integrated falls service.

The Executive does not manage services for osteoporosis, or any other chronic condition, directly. Good practice clinical guidelines on the management of osteoporosis were published by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, which is part of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, in June 2003. These will be reviewed regularly, and any new published evidence on the management of osteoporosis will be taken into account.

We do not collect information from NHS boards about designated named individuals leading the development of integrated falls services.

The Executive has had no meetings with the EU Osteoporosis Consultation Panel. The panel is a sub-group of the International Osteoporosis Foundation, a voluntary sector lobbying organisation which brings together osteoporosis support groups from 84 countries.

There are no plans to develop such a campaign. Some of the risk factors for osteoporosis are not modifiable, for examples age, sex, ethnic origin, reproductive factors such as early menopause and genetic factors. Modifiable risk factors include poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking, and these are risk factors for many other conditions as well as osteoporosis. The Executive is already working hard to promote a healthier lifestyle in Scotland.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Executive carried out an audit of falls prevention services in the autumn of 2002. This resulted in the holding of a falls prevention conference in November 2002, and a conference report which was issued widely by NHS Health Scotland in March 2003.

It is standard practice for a patient who is leaving hospital to be given a letter to his or her GP detailing the treatment given and any continuing care required. The involvement of GPs in the aftercare of elderly people with hip fracture, whether or not they have a diagnosis of osteoporosis, is identified as having of particular importance in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network good practice clinical guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Hip Fracture in Older People and on the Management of Osteoporosis.

Exact information is not held centrally. An estimate derived from information collected under NHS National Services’ Information and Statistics Division’s Practice Team Information system suggests that over the whole of Scotland in the 12 months ended in December 2004 approximately 2,300 men and 15,100 women with osteoporosis were seen by GPs, practice nurses, community nurses and health visitors. These figures are based on the activity of 46 Scottish General Practices with a combined patient population of 289,020. However, it is possible that they represent an underestimate of the true number of people with osteoporosis in Scotland, since not every person with the condition would consult their GP practice in connection with osteoporosis in any given year.