Businesses again Mail marketing campaign to finish osteoporosis postcode lottery

British enterprise is backing the Mail’s marketing campaign for Jeremy Hunt to finish the put up code lottery in diagnosing a devastating bone illness affecting hundreds of thousands of girls.

Business within the Community (BITC), whose founding patron is King Charles, is likely one of the main company teams to place its weight behind our marketing campaign for the Chancellor to offer funds throughout the UK for early prognosis.

Support: Queen Camilla campaigned for years to lift consciousness of osteoporosis – a situation which affected her mom

Queen Camilla was for a few years a tireless campaigner to lift consciousness of osteoporosis after her mom died in 1994 because of the illness.

Her Majesty has beforehand spoken of the ‘horror’ of seeing her mom, the Honourable Rosalind Shand, die a ‘crippling, gradual and agonising dying’ from osteoporosis, the place bones lose density and victims are extra weak to fractures.

Mary Macleod, Chief Executive of BITC, whose members embrace FTSE 100 giants resembling Marks & Spencer, Legal & General and BP, mentioned: ‘Early prognosis of well being situations resembling osteoporosis, alongside assist from employers, can allow extra folks to stay within the workforce longer and advance of their careers.’

Companies who’ve signed up as members of BITC make use of round 7million folks or greater than a fifth of the UK workforce.

The Mail on Sunday needs the Chancellor to offer funding for Fracture Liaison Services in each NHS Trust in England and Wales.

These provide an evaluation for osteoporosis and a scan to anybody over 50 who turns up at A&E with a low-impact fracture, for example from a fall from standing top.

They subsequently establish the illness early and might forestall painful and life-shortening fractures.

Early prognosis might maintain girls within the workforce

The British Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s main enterprise organisation, mentioned the marketing campaign is ‘vital’ and ‘related’ as a result of employers are struggling workers shortages with ‘over a million open job vacancies.’

‘Early prognosis will little doubt assist get these affected again into work’, a spokesman mentioned.

The group, led by Director General Shevaun Haviland, is a community of fifty,000 companies with six million workers.

One of the UK’s largest trades unions additionally lined up behind the marketing campaign.

Diagnose early: The Mail’s marketing campaign needs the Chancellor to offer funding for Fracture Liaison Services in each NHS Trust in England and Wales

Wendy Bartlam, Head of Corporate Services on the GMB Union, which has 500,000 members, mentioned:

‘GMB helps the marketing campaign in order that staff with osteoporosis can get the healthcare they deserve.’

Corporate Britain is being hit by excessive ranges of ‘financial inactivity’ within the UK, which specialists warn is harming the financial system.

Some 9 million folks don’t seem on the jobless registers however have dropped out of the workforce, lots of them as a result of well being issues together with osteoporosis.

Fracture liaison companies are current in 57 international locations worldwide however in England and Wales they’re solely out there in round half of NHS trusts.

They are supplied throughout the entire of Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The Royal Osteoporosis Society estimates it is going to price £30m a yr to increase them all through the UK.

It argues this outlay would quickly pay for itself in financial savings to the NHS on the price of fractures when it comes to hospital beds, emergency remedy and long run take care of damaged limbs.

More assist got here from Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium.

It represents 200 main retailer chains together with Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Boots, the place many workers are feminine.

‘I wholeheartedly assist the marketing campaign. Retail, particularly, depends on the tireless contribution of girls and older colleagues,’ she mentioned.

‘An early prognosis for osteoporosis can imply the distinction between a lifetime of power ache, and early remedy for an extended, happier life.’

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UK Hospitality, the affiliation for greater than 750 corporations within the leisure business, added: ‘The well being and wellbeing of our workers is so vital. and that is why we assist the marketing campaign. 

‘Its name for each NHS Trust to have early prognosis companies for folks residing with osteoporosis would profit 1000’s of over-50s and permit them to proceed their lives and careers uninterrupted.’

Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UK Hospitality, says early prognosis for folks residing with osteoporosis would profit 1000’s of over-50s, permitting them to proceed their careers

Craig Beaumont, Chief of External Affairs on the Federation of Small Businesses, representing 200,000 corporations, mentioned: ‘Since COVID now we have seen financial inactivity spike in these over 50 reporting long-term illness.’

He added that the federal government needs to be working with osteoporosis campaigners and the NHS to ‘assist folks get better and take their rightful place in our financial system and society’.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development additionally backs the marketing campaign, as does Mumsnet, together with politicians from all three main events in each the Lords and the Commons.

Osteoporosis is the fourth most dangerous well being situation when it comes to incapacity and untimely dying within the UK, solely surpassed by coronary coronary heart illness, dementia and lung most cancers.

Calculations by specialists on the Royal Osteoporosis Society present {that a} modest annual funding of £30million to increase Fracture Liaison Services would greater than pay for itself, resulting in an general advantage of £440million within the first 5 years.

Craig Jones, chief govt of the society, mentioned that with common early prognosis, ‘folks’s first fracture may be their final. This is an financial no-brainer, simply as a lot as a medical one.’

He added that rolling out fracture liaison companies throughout England and Wales might forestall as much as 750,000 out of two.6m sick days brought on by fractures yearly.