NHS Wales Award 2025: Leadership in Transforming Osteoporosis Care Across Wales

A pioneering project aimed at preventing repeat fractures in people living with osteoporosis has earned a prestigious national honour.

Dr Inderpal Singh, National Clinical Lead for Bone Health Wales and team, has won the NHS Wales Award 2025 for Leadership, recognising his outstanding contribution both within Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and across Wales.

Dr Singh led the flagship initiative “Let the First Fragility Fracture be the Last!”, designed to stop preventable repeat fractures by improving how fragility fractures are identified and treated. Fragility fractures, often the first sign of osteoporosis, affect thousands of people every year.

To tackle this, Dr Singh and his team introduced a standardised, automated system that uses weekly radiology reports and digital technology to identify cases quickly and consistently. Thanks to support from the Welsh Government funded Bevan Commission Adopt and Spread Programme, this innovation has now been rolled out across Wales.

The impact has been significant. Case identification numbers have risen from 3,151 in 2022 to 5,257, a 66.8% increase. This year, Wales has already identified over 7,000 fragility fractures, with expectations to surpass 8,000 cases, placing the nation ahead of key national benchmarks.

Wales also continues to provide evidence-based osteoporosis treatment, ensuring that people who have sustained fragility fractures receive high-quality, timely care.

Royal Osteoporosis Society Chief Executive, Craig Jones said:

“Dr Singh’s leadership and the success of the ‘Let the First Fragility Fracture be the Last!’ programme represent a major step forward for osteoporosis care in Wales. By driving improvements in the early identification and management of fragility fractures, this work is already transforming outcomes for thousands of people and raises the bar for clinical excellence by demonstrating what is possible when innovation, digital technology and compassionate care come together.

As we look ahead, the Royal Osteoporosis Society is committed to supporting Wales in delivering the next phase of improvement. This includes meeting the minimum national standards for high-quality Fracture Liaison Services: identifying 80% of expected fragility fractures, initiating treatment for at least 50% of eligible patients, and ensuring 80% monitoring of those started on therapy at both 16 and 52 weeks.

Strengthening timely access to DXA scanning, enhancing ongoing quality monitoring and reporting, and embedding value-based measures that capture patient experience and outcomes will be essential to sustaining this momentum.

“We are proud to stand alongside colleagues in Wales as they continue to set the benchmark for excellence in osteoporosis care across the UK.”

 Reflecting on the award, Dr Singh said:

“The NHS Wales Award 2025 is a tribute to all patients who have shared their experiences and helped us improve. It shows that bone health in Wales is moving in the right direction. This would not have been possible without the partnership of all Welsh organisations, Third Sector and the unconditional support of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, which has championed the patient voice and provided us with the economic calculators of high-quality FLS.

We will continue to innovate, promote bone health, and ensure that everyone who sustains a fragility fracture receives evidence-based osteoporosis treatment. Our overall goal is to deliver the Welsh Government’s Quality Statement for Osteoporosis and Bone Health.”