BUSINESS and trade union leaders have joined forces to make a pre-Budget plea for an end to the postcode lottery which results in people dying needlessly from osteoporosis.

They have warned the Chancellor and the Health Secretary that thousands of workers suffer fractures as a result of the disease each year and skilled staff are forced out of the workforce.

The campaigners want the Government to deliver on its pre-election pledge and ensure that “fracture liaison services” are rolled out across the NHS so people who break bones will be tested for osteoporosis and received potentially life-saving treatment.

The joint letter has been signed by groups ranging from the powerful GMB and Community trade unions to trade association UK Hospitality and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

According to the Royal Osteoporosis Society, half of women and one in five men over 50 will break a bone because of the disease – which is estimated to afflict 3.5 million people in the UK.

The campaigners state in their joint letter: “Every year, osteoporosis causes 81,000 workers to suffer fractures – broken bones from coughs, sneezes, hugs and stumbles. The vast majority of them are women in their fifties and sixties, who otherwise see themselves as being in their prime.

“The chronic pain, immobility and disability forces a third of sufferers out of their jobs completely. We need to end the ageist stereotype that people with osteoporosis are all retired.

“People with broken spines and hips cost the economy and businesses 700,000 work days every year. Adult caregivers spend another 894,000 work days a year supporting elderly parents after broken hips.”

They warn that GPs “systematically overlook” musculoskeletal conditions and mistake back pain for “age-related wear and tear” instead of sending people for scans.

The campaigners claim the “vast majority of people on long-term sick leave dearly want to work and businesses want to employ them” but argue change is needed so the NHS can “diagnose illness early and give people access to preventative medication”.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to expand fracture liaison services so all of England is covered by 2030, but at present only 51 per cent of NHS trusts has an FLS in place. It is believed this results in two-thirds of people who need anti-osteoporosis medications missing out.

Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society said: “Most people with osteoporosis don’t know they’ve got it, because modern diagnostic services are absent in most areas. For people of working age, the severe back pain they’re experiencing is actually broken bones in the spine, which can be easily prevented by medication.

“Wes Streeting has promised fracture liaison services in every area by 2030, so we can get these people diagnosed early and back to work. For all these people and the UK economy, that day can’t come soon enough.”

Last week the TUC passed a motion by the Society of Radiographers calling on the Government to improve early diagnosis and intervention for osteoporosis.