Earl of Effingham
Main Page: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)(2 days, 13 hours ago)
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The Earl of Effingham (Con)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Black and other noble Lords for their valuable contributions, which appear unanimous. This is clearly an important issue, which speaks to one of the fundamental objectives of any Government, regardless of political persuasion, when it comes to health—namely that prevention is better than cure. Every £1 spent on prevention saves an estimated £5 in downstream NHS costs. This is money well spent and guarantees multiple returns on investment, which are the kind of words that every Chancellor of the Exchequer wants to hear.
In government, we committed to the goal of 100% FLS coverage and we welcome that the current Administration have taken on the baton to complete that by 2030. We know that there is already 100% coverage across Scotland and Northern Ireland, and it is crucial that we follow in their footsteps. Indeed, without successful intervention, research indicates that one in two patients will potentially have another fracture within two years. This is a serious problem: it creates an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer of at least £650 million over five years but, more importantly, it leads to a loss of independence within a year, which then leads to anxiety, isolation, depression and worse. This has further profound societal and economic consequences, which no one wants to see—as was so well highlighted by the noble Lord, Lord Rennard.
The challenge is to identify, to assess, to intervene and to follow up. That is a tried and tested road map that works and that should be provided by a well-oiled FLS. We might ask whether the Government have made an assessment of integrating fracture risk assessments into routine GP health checks for patients over a certain age. Is there an opportunity to improve sex and region aggregated data, so that we can better understand the scale and nature of the problem and the resulting strategies?
I focus briefly on prevention. Strong muscles lead to strong bones, and strong bones help to minimise the risk of fracture. It has been suggested by many research pieces that strength training can even build bone so, if the Government wish to succeed with their goals, when and how will they ensure that everyone understands the huge benefits of daily exercise and strength training, which would solve so many of the issues that we currently face, not just fractures?
His Majesty’s loyal Opposition welcome action on this, via any specific measures that will address the situation. We ask the Government whether they will take guidance from Scotland and Northern Ireland on how they achieved 100% FLS coverage. A precedent has been set but, as many noble Lords have suggested, actions speak louder than words.