osteoporosis

The ROS attends political party conferences

The Royal Osteoporosis Society recently attended the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences with a team of volunteers, attending over 40 fringe events to advocate for universal, high-quality Fracture Liaison Services (FLS).

At the Labour Conference, Health Secretary Wes Streeting reiterated his commitment to delivering universal FLS by 2030, praising ROS for building a strong case for secondary prevention.

Public Health Minister Andrew Gwynne also voiced his support for the Better Bones campaign for universal FLS, ensuring the issue remains high on the agenda ahead of the Budget.

Sign joint letter to end the postcode lottery for FLS care

The Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) is asking healthcare professionals to sign a joint letter to be published in the Sunday Express calling for an end to the postcode lottery for Fracture Liaison Services (FLS).

If you are a healthcare professional, you can sign the letter here, and the ROS would be very grateful if you could share it with other healthcare professionals through your organisation.

Fracture Liaison Services are the world standard model for fracture prevention. They allow people who have suffered their first fracture to be identified, diagnosed and treated, in a timely way, with anti-osteoporosis medications which keep bones strong.…

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APPG for Osteoporosis and Bone Health Inquiry Report

osteoporosis report The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Osteoporosis and Bone Health published a report into the long-standing postcode lottery in the NHS for osteoporosis care. The report highlights the scale of under-diagnosis, under-treatment and missed opportunities in the NHS, with a blueprint for change. Implementation of the blueprint in England and Wales could save the NHS around £287m over five years – a return on investment of around 3:1 – according to the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS), which has supported the Inquiry.…

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Raising MSK conditions up the agenda has never been more important…

… that’s why we’ve joined ARMA

Guest blog by Craig Jones, CEO of the Royal Osteoporosis Society

Later this summer the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) will launch its manifesto for a future without osteoporosis. This marks the beginning of a new chapter where we’ll turn up the volume on the fight against osteoporosis through campaigning and advocacy.

Our hospital-by-hospital approach to fostering Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) since 2015 has paid off, with 12.1m more people now having access to the gold standard for secondary fracture prevention.…

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Guest blog: The fight against fragility fractures

by Ellie Davies, Acting Project Manager, Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme (FFFAP)

The challenge:

520,000 cases of fragility fracture occur every year amongst those (primarily over-50s) suffering with the bone-weakening disease known as osteoporosis. That is 520,000 broken bones caused by as little as slipping in the shower, stepping off a curb even. This is not only a huge economic burden on the NHS, approximately £5.25 billion, but an epidemic that has lasting physical and emotional repercussions for sufferers. It is upsetting to learn that 42% of older people say that osteoporosis has made them feel more socially isolated.…

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New infographics for AHPs summarise NICE guidance

New online infographic posters summarising the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance relevant to allied health professionals are now available online. Produced by the Institute of Osteopathy and endorsed by NICE, these easy to use resources provide a quick reference guide to current NICE guidance which can be printed and displayed in a clinical setting and support CPD.

There are currently three topics available; osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and spondyloarthritis, with plans to develop others in the near future.…

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NOS publishes new Osteoporosis Standards and Vertebral Fractures Guidance

On 30^th November 2017, the National Osteoporosis Society published new Osteoporosis Standards and Vertebral Fractures Guidance for Health Professionals. The guidelines help health professionals provide the possible care for people with osteoporosis.

Fizz Thompson, Clinical Director for the National Osteoporosis Society, said: “The National Osteoporosis Society plays a key role in driving positive change in healthcare provision for people affected by fractures and osteoporosis, and these new documents – developed with clinical experts over a two year period – demonstrate how the Charity is setting the agenda in this area.…

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Portsmouth and South East Hampshire update

Read the Summer-Autumn 2017 update newsletter from the Department of Rheumatology at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, and the Portsmouth ARMA Network, which features:

Events and conference details
Flu and Pneumonia vaccination dates
“No Time for Pain” Patient-Carer workshop
– discussing strategies for managing chronic and persistent pain associated to your Arthritis and Connective Tissue Disease with Partners/Family/Carers encouraged to attend as guests
“Tired of Being Tired” course
– a 7 week programme exploring different self-management and relaxation techniques to improve quality of life

Alongside the update are the fliers and forms related to upcoming events –

Day to Day Living with Arthritis and Connective Tissues Diseases Conference 2017:

Programme for healthcare professionals with registration form.…

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NICE Technology appraisal on bisphosphonates for osteoporosis

On 10^th July 2017, NICE issued a new Technology Appraisal (TA) for bisphosphonates which links the recommendations for drug treatments to advice on fracture risk assessment outlined in their earlier guidance. The TA is not intended to provide treatment thresholds but offers recommendations on cost-effective use of bisphosphonates when using fracture risk assessment as described in their guideline www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg146.

For the first time, these recommendations will apply to men as well as women.

The TA says that provided an individual meets the criteria for fracture risk assessment there should be no financial barrier to them receiving bisphosphonates if they have a fracture risk of at least 1% using FRAX or QFracture.…

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National Osteoporosis Society’s Clinical Update 2017

TREATMENT OF OSTEOPOROSIS – ‘When to start, when to stop and when to change?’
30th November 2017, NEC Birmingham

With a brand new and innovative format this event promises to provide multidisciplinary clinicians in England with the opportunity to discuss the treatment and management of osteoporosis. The Clinical Update will bring a series of interactive clinical case discussions to you, presented as part of an expert discussion panel. You can expect to hear and participate in lively debate around identifying the high-risk patient, treatment options for the atypical patient and considerations for duration of treatment.…

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