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I am delighted to introduce three new trustees for the Board of Osteoporosis New Zealand (ONZ). Chris Watney, Jan Clark and Sharron Lloyd.

Chris Watney BA(Hons), DIPM, MCIM

Chris is currently chief marketing officer at Southern Cross Health Society where he is responsible for business growth, brand strength, product performance and the transformation of the customer experience.

Jan Clark

Jan is a marketing strategist with a solid background in media and communications; launching and sustaining some of New Zealand’s best-known brands, PR (media relations), marketing, sponsorship, charity fundraising and business development.

Sharron Lloyd

Sharron Lloyd is the General Manager New Zealand for the Trans – Tasman Business Circle. Sharron has a real passion for relationship management, and with extensive experience working with the public and private sector at the highest level has built influential and diverse business and personal networks.

The new members of the Board will strengthen ONZ’s shift from being a medical society and enable us to focus on consumer support and delivery of public awareness campaigns.

To see the full team read more here

The national falls programme, Reducing Harm from Falls, led by the Health Quality & Safety Commission (the Commission) has developed a set of learning activities integrated with initiatives in the national patient safety campaign Open for better care. Anyone involved in the care of older people at risk of falling – or interested in how older people can ’keep on their feet’ – will find the 10 Topics useful as up-to-date information.

Osteoporosis New Zealand is delighted that Reducing Harm from Falls has chosen Topic 6 to focus on why hip fracture prevention and care matters. The content of Topic 6 is significantly informed by Osteoporosis New Zealand’s strategy BoneCare 2020. In this learning activity’s interactive pdf, you’ll review the strategic objectives set out in BoneCare 2020 and identify the steps most relevant to your service.  Topic 6 also presents the numbers to make the case for treating osteoporosis in a group particularly prone to falls and fractures – older people living with dementia.

Topic 6 is particularly timely for two reasons related to improving hip fracture prevention and care:

• District Health Boards are expected to have established Fracture Liaison Services by June 2014.  Fracture Liaison Services are expected to ‘Deliver high quality secondary preventative care for fragility sufferers (through identification, investigation and intervention) to prevent future fractures. This will be supported by the Minimum Data Set (MDS) for hip fractures developed by the Australia New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry (ANZHFR) Working Group) Link.  A Fracture Liaison Services Resource Pack can be downloaded from this webpage or open here as a PDF.
• The Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry is calling for submissions on the draft Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Guideline in a public consultation which closes on 13 December 2013. The draft guideline and submission process are here.

In December 2012 Osteoporosis New Zealand published BoneCare 2020 which made the case for a systematic approach to hip fracture care and prevention to be implemented nationally. Specifically, BoneCare 2020 called for implementation of a National Hip Fracture Registry to assess adherence with professional standards of acute hip fracture care and establishment of Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) in all District Health Boards (DHBs) to ensure fragility fracture sufferers always receive the secondary preventive care they need. Osteoporosis New Zealand is delighted that since publication of BoneCare 2020, the Ministry of Health has set an expectation for all DHBs to implement an FLS by 30 June 2014 and plans to develop a National Hip Fracture Registry are well underway

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