Osteoporosis and Primary Care

The request was successful.

Dear Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland),

The Royal Osteoporosis Society, representing the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Osteoporosis and Bone Health, is making a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request of all CCGs, Health Boards and Health and Social Care Trusts to assess the level of osteoporosis treatment in primary care.

The All Party Parliamentary Group has launched an inquiry into under-diagnosis and under-treatment of osteoporosis in primary care. To support the work of the group, Parliamentarians have asked for a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to be circulated to assess the level and quality of provision across the country. This is a positive, solution-focused inquiry into how we can improve services for the 3.5m people living with osteoporosis in the UK.

Data will be used to assess how we can target future resources to ensure that all patients receive the highest level of care and that there is consistency of quality across commissioning areas.

We appreciate your help with this information gathering exercise, especially as we understand the pressures that healthcare services continue to experience.

Should any further information be required, please do not hesitate to contact Gareth Lloyd-Johnson on 01761 473 137.

Yours faithfully,

Craig Jones,
Chief Executive, Royal Osteoporosis Society

Q1. How many GP practices are covered by your Health and Social Care Trust?

Q2. For the financial years 2019/2020 and 2021/22 how much did you spend on:
Osteoporosis medication with:

i) Oral bisphosphonates (alendronate, risedronate, ibandronate)
a. 2019/2020
b. 2020/2021

ii) Denosumab
a. 2019/2020
b. 2020/2021

DXA scans. Please provide:

i) budget/spend for DXA
a. 2019/2020
b. 2020/2021

ii) n. scans this provided
a. 2019/2020
b. 2020/2021

iii) n. DXA VFA (vertebral fracture assessment) scans commissioned
a. 2019/2020
b. 2020/2021

Q3. What proportion of GP practices have a systematic process in place (e.g., regular data search) for identifying people who require a fracture risk assessment?

Q4. What proportion of GP practices have osteoporosis identification/management tools embedded into their electronic patient management systems?
a) FRAX
b) QFracture
c) Other (please state)

Q5. For financial years 2019/20 and 2021/22.

a) What proportion of patients across your CCG aged 50 and over had a fracture risk assessment using FRAX or QFracture in line with NICE / NOGG recommendations?
i. 2019/2020
ii. 2020/2021
b) What proportion of these were referred for a DXA scan?
i. 2019/2020
ii. 2020/2021

Q6. What proportion of practices have an identified clinician or other healthcare professional with special interest in osteoporosis?

Q7. What proportion of GP practices have access to a community pharmacist (CP)?
And: what proportion of these CPs have a designated role in identifying/managing osteoporosis? What proportion of these CPs routinely perform osteoporosis medication reviews?

Q8. What proportion of GP practices have access to a First Contact Practitioner (FCP)? What proportion of these FCPs have a designated role in identifying/managing OP?

Q9. What proportion of patients being treated in primary care with osteoporosis medications have had a review of their medication within 12 months of treatment initiation?

Q10. What proportion of patients being treated in primary care with oral bisphosphonate therapy have had their treatment reviewed at 5 years of treatment?

PublicLiaison-SM, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland)

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PublicLiaison-SM, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland)

 

Dear Craig

 

FOI ENQUIRY RE: OSTEOPOROSIS AND PRIMARY CARE

 

Thank you for your request for information received on 4 April 2022 which
we are dealing with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act
2000.

 

Further clarification may be required to ensure your request is dealt with
appropriately and if this is the case we will contact you again.

 

Under Freedom of Information guidelines a response should be provided by 5
May 2022

 

For more information about the legislation and our procedures for dealing
with requests for information please refer to our website:
www.belfasttrust.hscni.net.

 

If you have any queries about this email, please contact me and remember
to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

 

 

FOI RESPONSES DISCLOSURE LOG

 

The information you require may already be available on our Trust website.
We have published responses to previous requests for information on our
FOI responses disclosure log which can be accessed via link below:

 

https://belfasttrust.hscni.net/about/acc...

 

Please let us know if you find the information here and no longer require
us to provide you with an individual reply.

 

 

Many thanks

Kate Webster

Communications Office

Public Liaison Service

Nore Villa

Email: [email address]

 

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PublicLiaison-SM, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland)

1 Attachment

Dear Craig

 

FOI ENQUIRY RE: OSTEOPOROSIS AND PRIMARY CARE

 

Thank you for your request for information received on 4 April 2022. Our
response is now attached for your information.  

  

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your Freedom of Information
(FOI) request has been handled you may wish to complain. You should
contact Public Liaison Services, Nore Villa, Knockbracken Health Care
Park, Saintfield Road, Belfast BT8 8BH or alternatively e-mail:
[1][email address] within two months of the date of
this response and your complaint will be considered and a response
provided usually within 20 working days of receipt.  

  

Should you still be dissatisfied with the outcome, you can proceed to the
second review stage by contacting the Information Commissioner, The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
SK9 5AF who will undertake an independent review. It is important to note
that if you refer any matter to the Information Commissioner, you will
need to show evidence of having gone through the Trust’s review process to
try to resolve the matter with the Trust in the first instance.  

  

If you require any further information or wish to discuss, please do not
hesitate to contact me. 

 

Kind regards

 

Lorraine

 

 

Lorraine O’Kane

Public liaison officer

TEL:  028 95046359

 

 

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