School Toolkit for EDS and JHS

The Hypermobility Syndromes Association gets a lot of questions about children struggling with the return to school, and enquiries from teachers looking to support hypermobile students as we approach half term.

HMSA has prepared the School Toolkit for EDS and JHS to address this need.

You can pick up the printed resource for educators in the HMSA shop, or for more information on how to help, browse the online toolkit that the HMSA launched with EDS UK last year:

https://theschooltoolkit.org/

Decision support tools published

Shared decision making toolsNHS England has published a suite of eight decision support tools covering varying conditions along with guidance on how to use them and evaluating the impact.

Four of these relate to MSK conditions:

Decision support tools (DSTs), also called patient decision aids, support shared decision making (SDM) by making treatment, care and support options explicit, providing evidence-based information about the associated benefits and risks, and helping people to consider what matters most to them in relation to the possible outcomes, including doing nothing.…

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Equity, Diversity and Belonging (EDB) Awareness Tool

Physio First logoPhysioFirst and the CSP LGBTQIA+ network have CSP logocollaboratively run a project with stakeholders to promote EDB within the recognised Professional Networks (PN) of the CSP. The outcome of this project, which was structured as a series of three facilitated meetings attended by each participating Professional Network, is the first version of an EDB reflective awareness tool.

The aim of this awareness tool is to prompt, guide and support the Leadership Teams of all PNs to  open the conversation and to reflect on equity, diversity and belonging within their own network and how they align with the CSP’s EDB Strategy.…

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Psoriatic Arthritis PSP infographic

Final update on the James Lind Alliance Psoriatic Arthritis Priority Setting Partnership

During the last two years the researchers running the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership have explored unmet needs in psoriatic arthritis, determining what is important for people living with psoriatic arthritis, their families and carers, and the healthcare professionals treating them. The project is now complete.

The results from this project will be used to guide future research. This infographic [opens in PDF] summarizes the project and its findings.…

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APPG for Osteoporosis and Bone Health Inquiry Report

osteoporosis reportThe 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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NASS driving service improvements

New report sheds light on game-changing innovations in axial SpA care

The report, Driving Improvements in Axial SpA Services: Building Foundations through Aspiring to Excellence was produced and published by the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS), and launched on 22 October 2021. This is the first detailed account of service improvement projects undertaken by rheumatology teams across the UK as part of the Aspiring to Excellence programme. 

Every team on the programme is working on a project that will improve diagnosis, treatment and care for patients with axial SpA.…

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Relaunched Managing JIA in School booklet

booklet imageOn World Arthritis Day, JIA-at-NRAS relaunched their Managing JIA in School booklet. The update provides information on all aspects of education and is a useful resource for parents, teachers and for the child themselves. There is more information about how to inform the school about your child’s JIA, individual health care plan, tips for teachers and children and how to manage flares in school.

There are also a range of articles aimed at improving the experience of going through school with JIA, with helpful information on a range of aspects of school life, including completing an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) and covering letter to the school, coping with exam stress and minimising the effect of heavy school bags on the joints.…

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New & improved app for teens and young adults

After a successful launch last year, Versus Arthritis has exciting news about the next evolution of their free app, “Arthritis Tracker”. Available on Android and iPhone, the symptom and wellbeing tracker can help health professionals make the most of the time they have with patients and quickly get an understanding of some the key issues that a young person is facing, leaving more time to discuss treatment options.

“The app is great – I am actively encouraging young people in my clinic to use it.

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New stretching videos to help keep moving and manage your arthritis

stretching 2Versus Arthritis has developed ten new stretching ‘follow along’ videos specifically to help people with arthritis to maintain flexibility and to help relieve stiffness.

The 15-minute ‘follow along’ format means that the videos can be easily incorporated into people’s daily routine. All of the exercises are designed to be done at home with some of the fun movements making use of everyday household objects.

This video series will form a key part of Let’s Move, a dedicated programme funded by Sport England for people with arthritis who want more movement in their lives.…

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SMILE-RA from NRAS

Working closely with health professionals and people living with RA, NRAS has created SMILE-RA- a platform to support people with self-management of their RA. With an intuitive interface, the modules can be selected which are of interest and relevance.

The modules available are the following:

  • Foundation
  • Newly Diagnosed
  • Meet the Team
  • Managing pain and Flares

New modules will continue to be added as they are developed. Visit nras.org.uk/selfmanagement for more information!

Hear from NRAS National Patient Champion, Ailsa Bosworth MBE, explaining in this video what supported self-management is all about and how SMILE, can help people living with RA.