Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Mental Health) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 20 October is World Osteoporosis Day and aims to increase awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis;

(b) osteoporosis is a fragile bone disease that causes painful and debilitating fractures, particularly of the hip and spine;

(c) every year in Australia around 165,000 fractures occur, many of which could have been prevented with earlier diagnosis and treatment; and

(d) 4.7 million Australians over 50 have poor bone health;

(2) acknowledges that the cost of fractures associated with osteoporosis nationally amounted to $2.1 billion in 2017; and

(3) recognises that:

(a) early action can be taken through regular exercise, a bone-healthy diet and consultation with a doctor about osteoporosis risk factors;

(b) diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis can halve the risk of fracture; and

(c) effective preventative treatments include regular exercise, a bone healthy diet and consultation with doctors about risk factors.

Today I'd like to recognise that this Saturday, 20 October is World Osteoporosis Day. It is a disease that makes bones become brittle, leading to higher risk of fractures. For the individual, it of course can cause pain, decreased mobility and loss of independence, particularly in those over the age of 65. Every year around 165,000 fractures occur, often from just a minor bump or a fall. That is around one bone broken every three minutes. The cost of fractures to the health system is over $2 billion. As many as 4.7 million Australians, or 66 per cent of Australians, over the age of 50 have poor bone health.

But there does remain hope. Many people don't know that effective treatments are available and can halve the risk of fracture. The fracture risk, particularly for hip fractures for older Australians, is quite alarming. Indeed, when it comes to mortality and morbidity from hip fractures, five per cent of those over 65 who get a hip fracture never leave the hospital; 10 per cent go straight to a residential aged-care facility; 50 per cent have a mobility disability within a year; and, sadly, 15 to 20 per cent die within a year because of the complications post-hip-fracture.

This is a really serious issue when it comes to older Australians, and we must do everything we can to make sure that older Australians, in particular, understand that you need to take good care of your bone health early. Indeed, early detection is vital to ensure that bone health is managed to prevent these fractures. You can take action to maintain and improve your bone health at every stage of your life. The earlier you start, the better. A calcium-rich diet, adequate vitamin D levels and regular exercise are all very important for that bone health. When diagnosed with osteoporosis, there are also medications that can help you manage it and improve your bone health or stop the decline in bone health. Labor had a proud history when last in government of dealing with those diagnosed with osteoporosis and of trying to prevent the diagnosis of osteoporosis in people by advocating healthy physical activity.

There is always more that needs to be done. We know that as many as 80 per cent of patients fail to receive appropriate treatment post-fracture. There are some places in Australia, particularly in some large hospitals, where there is a fracture liaison service run by the state government. These are remarkable facilities. They do a quick quiz of people who have had a fracture to see whether they are at risk of osteoporosis. If they are, they send them off for a bone density scan so that osteoporosis can be detected much earlier and they can receive appropriate treatment if they do have the early signs of osteoporosis.

It is critical as we go into World Osteoporosis Day that we advocate on behalf of older Australians, in particular, to look at their bone health and self-assess. There is a web site, knowyourbones.org.au, which has a five- to 10-minute quiz that people can do to see whether they are at risk of osteoporosis. If they are at risk, they can go to their GP and get appropriate referrals to get treatment and/or further diagnostics to see whether they are at risk of osteoporosis. It is really, really important that this is highlighted in the lead up to World Osteoporosis Day because, as I said, it costs the health system billions of dollars, but also for older Australians who are getting spine and hip fractures it is a huge cost to their physical health and to their families and loved ones in trying to provide the additional support.

I have my own story of my grandma, who fractured her hip in her 90s. I had to go and fight the hospital for her to have a hip replacement. I think she was 91 or 92 at the time. I remember them saying to me, 'She's unlikely to survive this,' and all the difficulties around that. I'm proud to say that my nan was one of the best rehabilitation patients in their 90s that that hospital had ever seen. She went on to live to 98, but it did put her into a residential aged-care facility some months post that hip fracture. So I know from my own family's experience just how difficult this can be, and then having to access all of the systems and supports of aged-care services, such as the ACAT teams. It would be much better if we dealt with the incidence of osteoporosis much earlier in our lives. I've done the Know Your Bones quiz, and I need to go and get a bone density scan. I'll absolutely be doing that, and I recommend that many people do it also.

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