A SPECIALIST nurse has been appointed to improve the treatment of people with osteoporosis, or brittle bone disease.
Denise Elliott will also identify people at risk of developing the disease in her new role with the Durham and Chester-le-Street Primary Care Group.
She worked at Sunderland Royal Hospital for 20 years caring for patients who had suffered broken bones, many of them due to osteoporosis.
Denise will set up clinics in GP surgeries and assess people at risk of developing osteoporosis.
She will help people reduce the risk of osteoporosis by encouraging them to give up smoking, drink less alcohol, follow a more healthy diet and take more exercise.
Denise said: "Osteoporosis is a silent disease that affects all ages, but in particular those over 50 years. Most people don't know they have it until they break their first bone.
"One in three women and one in 12 men over 50 will suffer a broken bone due to osteoporosis."
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