§ Mr. AustinTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the projected number of osteoporotic fractures in Northern Ireland in the next 12 months and the number of(a) orthopaedic beds and (b) days of hospitalisation required to treat them. [37334]
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§ Mr. Worthington[holding answer 6 April 1998]: Services are not planned in the detailed way pre-supposed by this question and therefore no estimate of the numbers referred to are available. However, in 1996/97, a total of 96 persons with a primary diagnosis of osteoporotic fracture were treated as inpatients in Northern Ireland hospitals. This treatment involved 1,685 bed-days.
§ Mr. AustinTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the number of visits and repeat visits to GPs in Northern Ireland occasioned by osteoporosis. [37306]
§ Mr. Worthington[holding answer 6 April 1998]: Information on the number of visits and repeat visits made to GPs about specific conditions is not collected centrally.
§ Mr. AustinTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the cost of treating osteoporotic fractures in the last 12 months. [37323]
§ Mr. Worthington[holding answer 6 April 1998]: Based on the number of finished consultant episodes during 1996/97 in relation to osteoporotic fractures, expenditure amounted to approximately £582,000. The latter figures refer to inpatient episodes only.
§ Mr. AustinTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the incidence of osteoporosis; and what estimate she has made of the cost of osteoporosis to the NHS in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months. [37314]
§ Mr. Worthington[holding answer 6 April 1998]: Information on the incidence of osteoporosis is not available centrally. The data available, however, show that, during the financial year 1996/97, 1,167 persons with a primary diagnosis of osteoporosis were treated as inpatients in Northern Ireland hospitals. Data are not collected in such a way that allows the cost of osteoporosis to the Health and Personal Social Services in Northern Ireland to be estimated.
§ Mr. AustinTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many health boards have an osteoporosis strategy in place; and if she will list them. [37310]
§ Mr. Worthington[holding answer 6 April 1998]: The four Health and Social Services Boards are aware of the significance of this condition as a public health problem and are at various stages in the development of strategies; these include guidelines for the secondary prevention of osteoporosis, protocols for onward referral and treatment of patients with osteoporosis; and measures intended to prevent the occurrence of osteoporosis.
§ Mr. AustinTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of(a) accidents and (b) orthopaedic hospital admissions in Northern Ireland are directly attributable to osteoporosis. [37327]
§ Mr. Worthington[holding answer 6 April 1998]: Data on (a) accidents are not collected in the form required. It is not therefore possible to answer the question. However, by way of information, in 1996/97, 145 (or 1 per cent.) of emergency inpatient admissions were assigned a primary diagnosis of osteoporosis.
With regard to (b) there are no orthopaedic hospitals in Northern Ireland. During 1996/97, a total of 39 (or 0.25 per cent.) persons with a primary or secondary 438W diagnosis of osteoporosis were treated as inpatients in the Trauma & Orthopaedics (T&O) specialty in Northern Ireland hospitals.