The ROS launches national campaign to end postcode lottery for osteoporosis care and treatment

The ROS launches a national campaign today, calling for 100% Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) coverage in England. This campaign follows recommendations from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Osteoporosis and Bone Health’s report.

The APPG on Osteoporosis and Bone Health launched on 25 March 2021 to raise awareness of osteoporosis and the importance of bone health among Parliamentarians and NHS leaders.

As its first act, the APPG launched an inquiry into the provision of Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) – the gold standard for systematically identifying, accessing, and treating anyone who breaks a bone after age 50. As part of the inquiry, a Freedom of Information request was sent to all NHS Trusts to find out if they provide an FLS last summer.

Key data collected by the APPG Inquiry revealed that only half of Trusts in England provide an FLS (51%), compared to 100% coverage in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Following the release of the report and recommendations in December last year, the ROS are today launching a petition calling to end the postcode lottery in England. If 10,000 people sign the petition the Government must formally respond. The ambition for the campaign is to drive parliamentary engagement and push osteoporosis treatment and care higher up on the political agenda, with the eventual aim of ending the postcode lottery for access to FLS in England.

By signing the petition, you can make a difference to patients across England who don’t have access to the care they need because of where they live.

As petitions to Parliament can only cover issues which are fully within the remit of Parliament and not those which are devolved, this petition is exclusively focused on England. 

However, this is one step towards providing FLS coverage for all people and offers us another chance to put osteoporosis on to the agenda of decision makers in devolved nations such as Wales. Work in the devolved nations is ongoing and is all part of an overall effort to improve services. This is why we have invited supporters of ours from the devolved nations to sign the petition.