Camilla calls in on special bone disease centre.

The Duchess of Cornwall was speaking to patients suffering from brittle bone disease in Hull today when she visited a specialist centre celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Camilla, whose mother Rosalind Shand died of osteoporosis, was spending time talking to patients being treated at the Centre for Metabolic Bone Disease at Hull Royal Infirmary.

The visit was organised by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Osprey, a local charity which supports research into osteoporosis.

The centre, a joint development between the NHS Trust and the University of Hull, opened at the city's Infirmary in January 1996 and is one of the busiest units in the UK.

It sees more than 8,000 patients each year for a bone density scan.

More than 3,000 patients are also seen each year in the specialist out-patient clinics.

Centre manager Sue Steele said: "Thanks to Osprey the centre benefits from being among the best equipped in the country with three spine and hip scanners and two portable heel scanners all purchased by them.

"Their support for us has been incredible and it is very fitting that the Duchess should want to come here as their guest."

Following the visit, the Duchess, who is president of the National Osteoporosis Society, was attending Age Concern's Healthy Living Centre on the city's Porter Street and finally the Lowna Dairy in Raywell.