Tell me about: Our campaigning work – the inquiry into primary care explained

The ROS helps to run the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Osteoporosis and Bone Health. You may often see us posting about the APPG and using language such as ‘call for evidence’ and ‘inquiry’ but be left wondering what this all means.

We caught up with Lucinda Roberts, our Head of Policy and Public Affairs to find out more about our parliamentary work, why it’s important and how you can get involved.

What is an APPG?

An APPG is a group of parliamentarians from across the political spectrum who come together to work collaboratively on an issue they’re passionate about. An APPG only covers England, because separate Governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland hold responsibility for health and the NHS in their country. However, we also deliver similar work in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales via different routes.

To form an APPG you must include people from different political parties and register yourself as an official group. An APPG has no formal powers to make any governmental changes, but they can campaign on behalf of an issue or call for a parliamentary debate about a topic to push for changes.

The APPG on Osteoporosis and Bone Health works hard to raise awareness and campaign on osteoporosis in Parliament and currently has 30 members.

How does an APPG work?

APPG’s can work in different ways. Some APPG’s meet infrequently to discuss an issue, any recent changes that might affect it and agree actions to be taken. Our APPG decided that the inquiry format was the best way for us to make meaningful change for people with osteoporosis.

What is an inquiry?

An inquiry is when you look into a specific issue in order to understand it better and how people are impacted by it. During an inquiry, the APPG will gather evidence by asking people to share any information they have about the issue or their personal experiences. Once evidence has been collected, the APPG will make recommendations to the Government and the NHS.

What does a call for evidence mean?

During an inquiry, an APPG will launch a ‘call for evidence’, which is an opportunity for people to share their own experience of the issue in hand. Evidence can be given in many different ways, such as via email, post or by filling out a survey.

How does my evidence help?

Sharing your experiences and opinions with the APPG helps them to create a clear picture of what care and access to treatment looks like across England as part of the inquiry. It also helps to identify themes and trends where changes can be made to ensure people are getting the diagnosis at the right time, with the right treatment and support.

What happens after an inquiry has ended?

After an inquiry has ended, the APPG will review it all and then through an inquiry report, make recommendations to the Government, the NHS and other public bodies on how to improve care for people with osteoporosis. This will then be published as a policy report later this year.

The APPG has just launched an inquiry into primary care, what does this mean?

The inquiry into primary care was launched to understand more about people’s experience with primary care when getting treatment and care for osteoporosis. Primary care is when you first seek health advice and can include speaking to GPs, practice nurses, pharmacists and physicians. This inquiry will help to identify any barriers there are to providing high quality care for patients and explore the best ways to tackle the challenge of osteoporosis, prevent fractures and improve the lives of people with the condition.

Who can submit evidence?

People with osteoporosis, clinical experts, and other people interested in the issue are encouraged to submit written evidence to an inquiry.

Carol Hufton is a volunteer for the ROS and has submitted evidence to the inquiry into primary care. We spoke to Carol about the experience, and why she thinks it’s important:

"I wanted to take part in the call for evidence for the inquiry because my experience with primary care meant my own diagnosis was delayed significantly and, as a local volunteer, I meet many others whose experience has also been poor.

“I knew that the work of the APPG had the potential to make a real difference and giving evidence, contrary to what some may think, was not intimidating at all! The members of the APPG are interested in what you have to say and want to listen to you. They want to know about the experiences patients have - they were kind and made me feel at ease.

“I really hope this inquiry will, in time, help doctors, and nurses improve the treatment and care that people with osteoporosis have as well as those at risk. I really encourage anyone who has had an experience with primary care for osteoporosis to share your experiences too. The more knowledge the APPG has of this, the better treatment and care can be in the future.”

Other ways to get involved

• Sign our petitions: following the findings from our APPG’s first inquiry last year into Fracture Liaison Services (FLS), we have launched petitions in England and Wales calling for equal osteoporosis treatment and care.
• Find out more about our campaigning work