Statement: Why we’re launching a cross-media advertising campaign today

From Professor Neil Gittoes, Chair of the Board of the Royal Osteoporosis Society

Last week’s Women’s Health Strategy was a profound disappointment for people with osteoporosis.

Two years into this Parliament, there is still no plan to deliver the commitment made by the Health Secretary to roll out early diagnosis clinics across England.

At the 2024 election, all major parties backed this policy.  It offered real hope of ending the postcode lottery, where two-thirds of patients are currently overlooked for the medication they need to prevent life-threatening fractures.

This is one of the most serious treatment gaps in the NHS.  No amount of charitable activity can compensate for it.

When Wes Streeting said that rolling out these clinics would be a first act in post, we acted in good faith.  We restructured our charity to support delivery, proposed a joint approach with government, and brought together an expert coalition of charities and professional bodies to help make this happen.

Two years on, there is still no delivery plan.  Meanwhile, an estimated 4,000 people have died following fractures that these clinics could have prevented.

Yet Ministers have continued to reaffirm this commitment publicly - more than 60 times in Parliament and the media - despite the absence of any credible delivery plan.

This risks becoming a policy that exists in rhetoric but not in reality.  If that happens, the hope inspired during the election will give way to cynicism and despair.

That’s why, reluctantly, we are launching a cross-media advertising campaign today.  We would far rather invest these resources in our support services, but we’ve made a clear-eyed judgement about what is at stake for our community.  This campaign launches this morning with full page adverts in four newspapers.

Every year of delay costs lives.  Over 2,000 people die annually following fractures that these early diagnosis clinics prevent.  Patients can’t afford for this commitment to become just a talking point.

What patients now need is a clear, funded delivery plan.

We remain committed to working with Ministers to find a way forward.  We continue to believe this policy is achievable, and that with the right approach it can save thousands of lives.

Ministers can count on us to be flexible and pragmatic.  We won’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.