OSTEOPOROSIS sufferers in Worcestershire have welcomed a rethink of new plans aimed at changing the way people with the fragile bone disease are treated.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence recently announced proposals that would result in a severely restricted access to osteoporosis treatments, claims the National Osteoporosis Society.

Following the announcement of the proposals, thousands of NOS members wrote to NICE to voice their opposition to the plans.

NOS was also overwhelmed with letters, e-mails, and phone calls from concerned osteoporosis sufferers, said Jackie Parrington, Worcestershire spokeswoman for the charity.

Now NICE says it is to rethink the plans and will delay implementing them for another year while the issue is reconsidered.

"NICE should be praised for listening to what the clinical experts and people with osteoporosis have to say," said Ms Parrington.

"Under the original plans, many people who have osteoporosis would have had to wait until they had broken a bone before they received treatment.

"We're still concerned that NICE's treatment proposals for people who have broken a bone because of the disease are too restrictive."

She said women at high risk of broken bones need a wide range of treatments, including effective drugs which meet individual needs, as well as alternatives for those who find they are intolerant to the only drugs that are available.