Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance
Influencing policy and care together for best lifelong musculoskeletal health
Tune into the NRAS Christmas show, a fantastic ensemble of music, choirs, family fun quiz questions and humorous recitations from some very special guests. It’s a great way to start the festivities with family and friends.
Friday 4 December 2020 at 7pm
The video will become available via the following link when it goes live on 4 December: www.facebook.com/
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Making decisions about shielding – based on guidance issued 22 September for England
This document is based on guidance for England. The principles of assessing your own risk and the risk of different activities is the same wherever you live. If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, check your national guidance and advice for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable – see links below.
Just over 2 million people in England were advised earlier this year that they needed to shield because they are extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus.…
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The information in this briefing is based on the collated experiences of many of those shielding and information from patient helplines about the enquiries they were receiving earlier this year. For more information about the experiences of people with MSK conditions during lockdown, please see the report ‘MSK Lived Experience Themes of What Matters.’
Earlier this year, over 2 million people including some with musculoskeletal conditions, received a letter advising them to “shield” by remaining in their homes for 12 weeks.…
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Due to COVID-19 and current restrictions, this year’s Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists AGM will be held virtually via Zoom webinar on Monday 30 November 2020 at 6.30pm.
The AGM provides each member with an opportunity to hear what the MACP has achieved in the last year and what the MACP strategy and objectives are for the coming five years.
Four weeks prior to the AGM all Executive Committee reports and Committee nominations will be available online for members to review.…
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NRAS has a new video on the benefits of the Right Start Service for patients newly or recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.New2RA Right Start is a service launched by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) at the BSR 2019 congress and to which many rheumatology services are referring their patients. Right Start supports people newly diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis to understand their diagnosis and how it is likely to affect them. Getting the right, supportive start can help people to make adjustments to their behaviour, lifestyle and health beliefs and understand why self-management is essential, and learn how to make those important first steps to managing their disease effectively.…
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by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA
Things feel very precarious and uncertain as everywhere in the UK takes measures to control the spread of Covid-19. With the various tiered systems, the firebreak in Wales and the four-week lockdown in England, we all know that this is going to be a difficult winter, especially for people working in the NHS and those who need healthcare. ARMA will continue to support our members through whatever the winter holds and to champion the importance of MSK services.…
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Hannah Ensor (chair of the board of trustees) has been covering the CEO role for several months now, so Hypermobility Syndromes Association (HMSA) is very pleased to welcome a new Executive Manager, Jane van Velsen, who will be taking on the management of the charity.
This role replaces that of CEO, and will mean managing the practical and operational side of the organisation. Jane has a lot of experience in charity management and is passionate about getting the hypermobile community the support it needs – from early diagnosis to appropriate long term advice and input.…
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by Andrew Coutts. BSc Hons, MSc, FCPodS, Specialist Registrar in Podiatric Surgery, Derbyshire Community Health Service NHS Foundation Trust
One of the most common questions I get asked by patients, colleagues and friends is – ‘how do I get rid of my heel pain?’ I see many patients with plantar fasciitis symptoms, insertional Achilles tendonosis and other causes of heel pain, such as retrocalcaneal bursitis, tarsal tunnel syndrome, fat pad atrophy and Sever’s Disease, however every year I see an increase in referrals specifically around February, March and April time [1].…
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A new report from National Voices What matters to people for health and care, during COVID-19 and beyond is based on the work throughout the first phase of the pandemic to capture the experiences of people with ongoing health and care needs, through OurCOVIDVoices. The report makes a series of recommendations for those designing services and those delivering services which will be very relevant to MSK services, as well as suggestions for what system leaders can do.
Derived from people’s experiences, the report creates “I statements” such as ‘I am listened to’ and ‘what I say is acted on’, ‘I am supported to understand risks and uncertainties in my life.’…
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The NHS Change Challenge site continues to publish the most impactful initiatives submitted. Wave two included a number of digital initiatives and wave three will be related to rheumatology services. Each idea has a short slide deck explaining the change and how it was done, the impact and issues to consider for embedding it.
The information is brief and practical, enabling you to easily use the initiatives that are helpful to you. If you want to comment you can also join the discussion.…
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