BLACKPOOL doctors are leading the way with a trio of appearances at top health conferences across Britain this month.

Bloomfield Road Medical Centre GP Dr Amanda Doyle is to speak at the National Osteoporosis Society's advisory forum on October 9 to confirm that the resort is now established as one of the leaders in the fight against the disease which causes bones to thin and fracture.

Dr Doyle will be speaking about an ambitious project initiated by the Blackpool Primary Care Group to screen every member of the local population at high risk.

Already at Bloomfield Road many risk groups have had a quick and simple heel test on a portable ultrasound scanner called a Sahara to determine bone density.

And of the 8,000 members of Dr Doyle's practice a surprisingly high number are at serious risk of a fracture from osteoporosis.

"People haven't always recognised the seriousness of the disease," said Dr Doyle. "In elderly people a hip fracture can lead to fatal complications. Or it can mean the end of their ability to live independently in their own home.

"If the telltale signs are detected early enough by scanning, treatment is available."

Risk groups are: any woman aged between 50 and 70 with a family history of the disease, who has had an early menopause or fracture, all women aged between 70 and 80 and men and women on long-term steroids.

And speaking at the NHS Alliance conference in Bournemouth this week are Dr Steve Cushing and Helen Skerrit of the Primary Care Group.

Dr Cushing will tell 1,000 delegates why Blackpool PCG has made so many inventive decisions on providing health care for the population.

"Learning to identity the particular needs of patients, then being inventive in tackling then, means taking risks," said Dr Cushing. "So many are proving successful."

The innovations include placing staff from the Citizens Advice Bureau in medical practices in identified areas of social exclusion, intermediate opthamology clinics for minor eye conditions, screening for osteoporosis and developing new support for diabetic patients.