HC Deb 06 April 1998 vol 310 cc106-7W
Mr. Austin

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the cost of treating osteoporotic fractures in the last 12 months. [37321]

Mr. Galbraith

No estimate has been made of the cost of treating osteoporotic fractures in the last 12 months.

Mr. Austin

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the projected number of osteoporotic fractures in Scotland in the next 12 months and the number of(a) orthopaedic beds and (b) days of hospitalisation required to treat them. [37333]

Mr. Galbraith

It is for Health Boards to assess the needs of their resident population and to ensure that services are provided to meet these needs. The Scottish Needs Assessment Programme published a Report on Osteoporosis in April 1997 to assist Health Boards in this task.

Mr. Austin

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of visits and repeat visits to GPs in Scotland occasioned by osteoporosis. [37305]

Mr. Galbraith

The information is not available.

Mr. Austin

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage and number of(a) accidents and (b) orthopaedic hospital admissions in Scotland are directly attributable to osteoporosis. [37326]

Mr. Galbraith

The information requested is provided in the table.

It should be noted that the presence of osteoporosis may not always be diagnosed explicitly, since many cases are recorded as common fractures.

Admission criteria in 1997 Accident Orthopaedics
Number of admissions during 1997 68,701 76,007
Number of admission in 1997 where osteoporosis was recorded as main diagnostic condition 9 107
Percentage of admissions in 1997 where osteoporosis was recorded as main diagnostic condition 0.01 0.14
Number of admissions in 1997 where osteoporosis was recorded as any main diagnostic condition 734 372
Percentage of admissions in 1997 where osteoporosis was recorded as any main diagnostic condition 1.07 0.49

Mr. Austin

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many health authorities have an osteoporosis strategy in place; and if he will list them. [37309]

Mr. Galbraith

The information requested is not held centrally.

Mr. Austin

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the incidence of osteoporosis; and what estimate he has made of the cost of osteoporosis to the NHS in Scotland in the last 12 months. [37313]

Mr. Galbraith

The Scottish Needs Assessment Programme published a Needs Assessment Report on osteoporosis in April 1997. The Report estimated that, in Scotland, more than 40,000 men and in excess of 200,000 women aged over 50 have osteoporosis of the hip. Information of the estimated cost of osteoporosis to the NHS in Scotland in the last 12 months is not available.