MSK & Arthritis News

Inflammatory Arthritis Toolkit

The British Society for Rheumatology has launched the Inflammatory Arthritis toolkit in partnership with the Royal College for GPs and health professionals. Designed to facilitate earlier treatment for this condition, this toolkit aims to be a user-friendly guide to inflammatory arthritis for primary care professionals, people affected by arthritis and clinical commissioning groups.

The RCPG have also provided a summary here.

Guest blog: Improving quality in orthopaedic care

by Mark Brandreth, NOA Lead CEO and
CEO of the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation
Trust

As the new lead CEO for the National Orthopaedic Alliance (NOA), I am proud to be part of a group of organisations and people who are working to drive improvements in orthopaedic care nationwide. I’m pleased to have been given the opportunity to contribute a guest blog to ARMA’s newsletter to share an update on our work with you. At Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH), our work with the NOA, and its vanguard work in particular, is vital to our future – and to the future of orthopaedic care received by patients across the country.…

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ARMA Chair Tony Woolf receives international recognition

Chair of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance Receives Top Honor from American College of Rheumatology

Professor Tony Woolf was honored with the designation of Master by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) during the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego. Recognition as a Master is one of the highest honors that the ACR bestows on its distinguished members.

The designation of Master is conferred on ACR members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology through scholarly achievement and/or service to their patients, students, and the rheumatology profession and are age 65 or older.…

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Strength in numbers

There are many reasons for organisations working in collaboration with others. Over the years I have worked to influence health and care policy I have seen many changes which could never have happened if organisations had not worked together on issues of common concern, even where opinions may differ on other issues.

Bone and Joint week 2017 in October showed how, with a bit of co-ordination, we can work together to speak louder than any one organisation alone. Bone and Joint Week is an international opportunity to raise awareness of issues related to all things musculoskeletal.…

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Lessons from traditional Chinese acupuncture – Adding value to life

Guest Blog by Paul Hitchcock, Chief Executive, The British Acupuncture Council

I recently spoke at an NHS England event for International Day for Older People, my talk being titled “Lessons from traditional Chinese acupuncture – adding value to life”. We know we have a demographic challenge here in the UK and we talk about an ageing population that will see an increase of around one million people over the age of sixty five in the next three years. In China the number is closer to three hundred million, although the approach there is not to use age as the differentiator but the person’s overall health and wellbeing – an approach that is also now starting to be applied here in the UK.…

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NICE Persistent Pain Guidelines committee

NICE is looking for members to join the persistent pain guideline committee.

They are looking for:

  • two general practitioners
  • a pain specialist
  • a physician with interest in pain
  • a liaison psychiatrist
  • a pharmacist
  • an allied health professional
  • a commissioner
  • a pain psychologist
  • a nurse specialist or practitioner
  • a public health professional.

They are also looking for co-opted expert witnesses with the following background or experience:

  • an addiction specialist
  • a social worker.

Find full details here on the NICE website.
NICE are also recruiting for lay members to join the committee: www.nice.org.uk/lay-member-persistent-pain-guideline-committee

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Contribute to EULAR 2018 – Abstract submission now open

The Annual European Congress of Rheumatology will take place in Amsterdam, 13-16 June 2018.

Building on a record of 4,850 abstracts submitted in 2017, EULAR 2018 is expected to achieve more success than ever before. Submit your abstract and join EULAR in its endeavour to improve the availability of information and the ability to diagnose and treat all areas of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs).

Submit your abstract

Abstract submission deadline: 31 January 2018 23:59 CET

 

Edgar Stene Prize 2018 – Send your entries, don’t miss out!

Deadline is Friday 21st December. Please submit your completed essays entry to projects@arma.uk.net.

The Edgar Stene Prize 2018 competition is open to people 18 years and over who are living with a Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal (RMD) disease. The 2018 prize will be awarded to the winning essay on the topic:

“My personal champion – supporting my everyday life with a rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (RMD)”

For many people with RMDs it can be a long journey to receive the right diagnosis and appropriate treatment for their condition.…

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Biologics guidance document for Rheumatology Practitioners

The RCN Rheumatology Forum would like to report that in September 2017 the 4th edition of the RCN Biologics guidance document for Rheumatology Practitioners went live: “Assessing, managing and monitoring Biologic therapies for Inflammatory Arthritis

It is available online now as a downloadable PDF via our link: my.rcn.org.uk/RCNguidance.

Strategy Day

On the 17th Nov 2017 the RCN Rheumatology Forum are planning to meet for a (self-funded) Strategy Day where future projects and final details of the forthcoming RCN Rheumatology Nursing Workshop will be discussed.…

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Work Matters launched

On Wednesday 11th October, NRAS launched its new report, Work Matters, following a survey of over 1,500 people with rheumatoid arthritis.

The launch took place in Parliament and was attended by the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work- Penny Mordaunt MP, who spoke about the importance of work as a health outcome. The findings from this report will form much of NRAS’ campaigning going forward.

You can read the report here and can also order a hardcopy from this link.…

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