Royal Osteoporosis Society

The Royal Osteoporosis Society has repositioned itself as a key influencer on the national stage. The charity is tackling head-on the culture of passivity and defeatism around osteoporosis, as well as ageist stereotypes that have caused an eye-watering treatment gap.

The charity made brave sacrifices to scale up its impact during the economic downturn, including selling its rural office and moving to a smaller city centre hub. The proceeds funded its first ever cross-media advertising campaign, which enabled 116,500 people to check their risk. Over 9,000 of them got an early diagnosis, transforming their quality of later life. The charity’s new strategy aims to push osteoporosis to the top of the public health agenda, ending the missed opportunities for prevention. Early victories show it’s working: ROS won a commitment from the Welsh Health Minister to extend fracture services to tens of thousands. The charity persuaded the Scottish Government to set up a public audit of NHS services that will prevent 172 hip fractures and save 43 lives annually. ROS persuaded decision-makers at NICE to change course and approve the first new drug for osteoporosis in a decade. Through a period of radical change, we’ve maintained a 92% employee engagement rating.