"Waiting Times"

Hi DottyM

I apologise that your journey to have bone density assessed continues and agree that this is poor service provision. The team have not been at full staffing capacity for most of this year, however we are in the process of resolving this which should in itself improve patient flow.

This has been raised with the hospital board and we continue to work with managers to look at changing practice to look at more efficient ways to get results to patients once a DXA scan has been reported.

Request for DXA scan's is made directly to radiology and as well as a significant wait for scan, it can also take 8-9 months for this to be reported currently before being passed to either the fracture liaison or osteoporosis team to review the report.

I am aware that this results in a further delay in one of the team reviewing this to provide recommendation should this be necessary. I would hope that you will receive your results soon.

A healthy lifestyle is important for your bone health. More ways to look after your bones that we would recommend to everyone regarding bone health includes:

• a well-balanced, varied and calcium-rich diet
• safe exposure to sunlight, so that your skin makes vitamin D
• regular weight-bearing impact exercise and muscle-strengthening exercise
• not smoking
• not drinking more than the recommended levels of alcohol
• taking steps to lower your risk of falling, as falls can lead to broken bones.

You can use this calcium calculator to calculate how much calcium you are getting from your diet. It is recommended to aim for approximately 1000mg per day
https://webapps.igc.ed.ac.uk/world/research/rheumatological/calcium-calculator/

The Royal Osteoporosis website has excellent resources including fact sheets and videos that can be accessed by visiting https://theros.org.uk/fact-sheets-and-leaflets/

You can also visit their YouTube page which has many useful video links to support promoting good bone health

https://www.youtube.com/@osteoporosissociety/featured

You can access Strength and balance exercises online via NHS Forth Valley’s webpage: https://nhsforthvalley.com/health-services/health-promotion/physical-activity/strength-balance/

If you are concerned regarding falls and want to know what you can do to reduce your risk, you can visit the following website.
https://nhsforthvalley.com/health-services/az-of-services/falls-management-prevention/

You can contact the service to provide your detail and we can advise if your scan has been reported. The support line number is 01324616139.

Another option would be to check with the radiology team who can advise if the scan has been reported, and if not may be able to provide a time frame for this.

Hi

I appreciate that you have taken the time to leave your details on the osteoporosis line.

I have looked into this for you and as yet your scan requested by your doctor has not been reported. This is a diagnostic test and not a referral to Osteoporosis or Fracture liaison. The report will go to your doctor when the radiology team do this and also be passed, in way of referral, to either the fracture liaison service or osteoporosis team to consider if the report indicates that you may benefit from treatment.

I did try to call you today to update you however was unsuccessful in getting through and will try you again at the beginning of the week.

I can understand how frustrating this is for you. You may wish to contact the DXA team in radiology to see if they can provide a timeframe on when your scan might be reported.