FOI 2025/1296

I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

1. Does your organisation currently have an established osteoporosis clinical pathway, care pathway or equivalent in place (either independently or in collaboration with providers such as hospitals, community services, or primary care)?
2. If yes:
   • Please provide a copy of the osteoporosis pathway document (or the most recent version available).
   • Please confirm the date the pathway was last reviewed or updated.
3. If no pathway currently exists:
   • Please confirm whether your organisation has any plans to develop or adopt an osteoporosis pathway within the next 12 months.
   • If available, please provide details of any related initiatives, working groups, or regional coordination efforts in place for managing osteoporosis care.

1. NHS Greater Manchester comprises ten Places and we do not currently have a single osteoporosis clinical pathway. However, all Places are expected to prescribe for osteoporosis consistently, against our shared clinical formulary (https://gmmmg.nhs.uk). Five of our Places have established Fracture Liaison Services which are designed to identify and treat osteoporosis in adults over 50 who have had at least one fragility fracture. These services are delivered by a mixture of acute and community providers.
2. N/A
3. We do not have a plan to develop an osteoporosis pathway within the next twelve months. However, we have several related initiatives for managing osteoporosis care:

• We have launched a Greater Manchester fracture liaison steering group, to bring together existing FLS providers alongside those who are wishing to establish a FLS. We are encouraging all our Places to start delivering FLS for their residents. We will provide guidance for suggested care protocols and key performance indicators but given the size of our ICS, we expect each service to be designed and delivered in a way that works for their local population.
• Osteoporosis care is also being considered alongside falls risk reduction, and NHS GM has representation on the Greater Manchester Falls Collaborative.
• We are currently developing our approach to frailty across NHS GM, and we are establishing a frailty steering group.  Part of this work will include developing a strategy for falls risk reduction.  This will include measures or estimations of bone mineral density, to reduce the risk of fractures in our population.