Category: Resources

PHE’s Every Mind Matters updated

The Better Health – Every Mind Matters  website has recently been refreshed to help people access the content more easily.

There are things we can all do to look after our mental wellbeing and the Every Mind Matters Mind Plan can provide NHS approved personalised advice on positive steps people can take to help manage anxiety, sleep better and boost your mood. Get Your Mind Plan here.

The Better Health Every Mind Matters platform includes practical tips and videos from experts and what you can do to help others – including advice for parents and for children and young people.…

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New booklet: Medicines in JIA

NRAS is pleased to announce the launch of its new JIA booklet Medicines in JIA. The focus of the booklet is on the medicines that are used to treat JIA, but it also contains information about what parents and young people with JIA can expect at every stage from diagnosis to ongoing long-term care, showing that medicines are only one part of treatment.

The new booklet can be ordered or downloaded for free from the JIA website.

NRAS Upcoming Events:

  • Thurs 1st July, 4pm – Facebook Live: COVID and Inflammatory Arthritis Update with Prof.
…

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The AHP’s role in tackling health inequalities

The King's Fund logoEvery allied health professional plays an important role in tackling health inequalities. The 14 allied health professional bodies, Public Health England, NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with The King’s Fund to develop a simple framework to help any allied health professional consider their role in tackling health inequalities.

The framework has been created to help AHPs to find their own unique role in this and to explore ways to maximise their contribution. It was created in collaboration with AHPs from across the 14 professional groups.…

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State of health and care: The NHS Long Term Plan after COVID-19

State of Health reportState of health and care: The NHS Long Term Plan after COVID-19

A new report from IPPR shows the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted progress on the NHS Long Term Plan. The report looks at cancer, mental illness, cardiovascular disease and multiple long term conditions, but the findings are equally relevant to MSK services.

The report argues that COVID-19 should not become an excuse for low ambition, and that world-class healthcare must remain the overall goal. To achieve this, the report recommends a package of six ambitious changes designed to do three things:

  • Ensure the pandemic does not cause lasting damage to healthcare services for future generations.
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Workforce planning chart for MSK

The launch of NHS England’s Best MSK Health programme gives the population’s musculoskeletal health in England a focus and priority like never before, and much needed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

NHS England waiting times data shows people with serious MSK conditions needing diagnosis and treatment by rheumatology and elective care services are waiting much longer. The same is true for community MSK services and treatment. At the other end of the spectrum, for people who previously had no long-term conditions, the lockdown effect on mental well-being, exercise and weight-gain are significant obstacles to their musculoskeletal health now and into the future.…

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Key MSK COVID-19 resources

ARMA continues to keep our COVID-19 resources page up to date. There have been some new resources added in recent weeks and others have become more relevant as the pressure on the NHS increases. Here are some of the key resources to be aware of:-

Urgent and Emergency Musculoskeletal Conditions Requiring Onward Referral

The guidance supports primary and community care practitioners in recognising serious pathology which requires emergency or urgent referral to secondary care in a patient who presents with new or worsening MSK symptoms.…

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CEO update: Looking forward together

by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA

Here we are back in lockdown, with the NHS under even more pressure and MSK services severely impacted. COVID-19 response is still dominating the work of ARMA, although we are also progressing plans for other work in 2021. There are some different issues for MSK this time around, and vaccination currently dominates our work. When some people with MSK conditions are vaccinated, the timings of MSK treatment may need to be considered.

I am delighted that ARMA can host a document setting out the principles for these timing decisions.…

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Inclusion Health: applying All Our Health

Public Health England
Guidance

Inclusion Health: applying All Our Health

Published 11 January 2021

Published by Public Health England, this guide is part of ‘All Our Health’, a resource that helps health and care professionals prevent ill health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice. The information below will help front-line health and care staff use their trusted relationships with individuals, families and communities to take action on inclusion health.

‘Inclusion health’ is a catch-all term used to describe people who are socially excluded, typically experience multiple overlapping risk factors for poor health (such as poverty, violence and complex trauma), experience stigma and discrimination, and are not consistently accounted for in electronic records (such as healthcare databases).…

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Royal College of GPs and EDS toolkit

by Ehlers-Danlos Support UK

We were very disappointed to be told just before Christmas that the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) wanted to withdraw the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) toolkit for GPs. The College planned to remove the toolkit from the RCGP website at the end of January. The RCGP cited pressure on its limited resources as a result of the pandemic and contention around the toolkit from various sources as reasons for its decision. While we understood that the College wanted to prioritise use of its resources, the move would have been a huge backwards step for people with EDS and related conditions.…

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