Statement on the Health Secretary’s remarks about ROS

The Mail on Sunday is reporting some leaked remarks by Health Secretary Wes Streeting concerning our charity.  This is our response.

Sometimes charities have to campaign hard for the people they represent. That’s part of our jobs.

Before the election, Health Secretary Wes Streeting made a promise for universal Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) by 2030. It was specific and measurable. And that was important to us. Mr Streeting went one better than his counterparts in saying the rollout plan would be one of his first acts in post.

Rolling out these early diagnosis clinics to every area will prevent 74,000 fractures over five years – including 31,000 life-threatening hip fractures. So the stakes are high.

Since taking office, the Government’s language changed to “widening access” to FLS. This made us worry that universality by 2030 wasn’t the goal, and then some people will miss out on a life-saving service.

Without confirmation as government policy, the pre-election promise was just a newspaper quote.

When the Government announced funding for 13 DXA scanners, we’re quoted as thanking Ministers, while pointing out that FLS isn’t just a DXA scan.

Today, the Government confirmed that “universal by 2030” is their policy, for the first time since the election. This is fantastic news. I want to thank the Health Secretary for this re-commitment. Thousands of people with osteoporosis will feel the same.

The only thing that motivates us is the 2,500 people who are dying needless deaths from hip fractures every year. That’s why we’ve been campaigning for work to begin as soon as possible.

The word “lobbying” conjures up images of tobacco, gambling, special favours and brown envelopes. We provide a voice to a chronically under-recognised community, so “advocacy” describes our work better.

Charities sometimes have to challenge governments, but it doesn’t mean we don’t want to work with them constructively.

Wes Streeting described us as “stakeholders rather than partners”. When the dust settles, I hope he’ll be open to changing his mind.

We’ve always been ready to help get these crucial services set up – rather than just calling on others to act.

After the election, we proposed a draft rollout plan for universal FLS, which we offered to broker in a joint venture with the NHS. We convened a Shadow Implementation Group to start work, including charities, Royal Colleges and expert societies. And we readied six Integrated Care Boards for pilots.

If work can start before long, we’ll play our part in turning this into a strong example of prevention in action under the new government.

Craig Jones, CEO, Royal Osteoporosis Society