MSK & Arthritis News

NRAS are looking for a Policy and Public Affairs Manager

Selected duties:

  • Maintaining a sustainable level of campaigning activity to raise political awareness of the needs of those with rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis working from the excellent reputation built and base of campaigning activities delivered to date
  • Organising one on one meetings with parliamentarians, ministers, civil servants, key opinion leaders, and key NHS figures to ensure that RA and JIA are prioritised amongst long term conditions
  • Monitoring the political environment and disseminating relevant information to the CEO, other colleagues and volunteers in the campaign networks as appropriate

Location: 4 The Switchback, Gardner Road, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 7RJ

For a full list of responsibilities, required qualifications and skills, and salary details click here.

UK Gout Society Parliamentary Reception

Gout: No Laughing Matter

The UK Gout Society held a parliamentary reception at the House of Commons on 28th March 2017 to launch #shoutaboutgout – a social media campaign to raise awareness about gout, a musculoskeletal disorder which now affects one in 40 people in the UK.  Nearly 60 MPs, peers and other stakeholders in the MSK space, including many ARMA members, attended the event.

Jim Shannon, MP for Strangford (Northern Ireland) and DUP Spokesperson for Health, who sponsored the event, stated: “It’s time we put the facts on the table and told people the truth about gout.”…

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HMSA simplify the new EDS nosology for patients and clinicians

It’s been a very busy month for the HMSA with the release of new EDS nosology. We’ve prepared some material for people unsettled by these developments in classification: a letter which can be printed and given to medical professionals explaining what the changes mean, and an update for clinicians that contains a simplification of the changes for people working in the MSK field. Both can be found on our website sidebar, appended to an interview with our HSD Ambassador, Hannah Ensor, here: hypermobility.org/hsdandme…

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Ironcause – 52 Middle Distance Triathlons

My name is Keith Diaper and I am 40 year old husband and father from Hedge End in Southampton. I’m an electrician and a keen triathlete.

Starting on Saturday 1st April 2017 I will be doing one middle distance triathlon every Saturday and Sunday for six months – so I will be covering 3655.6 miles in total, over 52 events. That’s about the same distance as travelling from Southampton to New York.

A Middle Distance Triathlon is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle and then a 13.1 mile run.…

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CEO Update March-April 2017

March has been a busy month for ARMA. I have enjoyed meeting so many ARMA members, finding out more about what you do and how ARMA fits with your current priorities. I really welcome the level of support you have offered me in my new role as I begin to get an understanding of the priorities of the MSK community.

The highlight of the month must be the three joint ARMA/NHS England regional events. These have been a huge success. All three events were over-subscribed, showing the high level of interest in improving musculoskeletal services locally.…

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My Message to Back Pain Sufferers

Guest blog by Dr Brian Hammond D.O.D.C Ph.D. FCC (Orth) PG Cert, Chair of BackCare

There are very many back and neck pain sufferers in the UK.  The cost to the Exchequer and industry is staggering.  In this country, about 2.5 million people experience back pain every day of the year.  Although statistics vary, treatment for back pain and disability payments as a result of back problems costs the tax payer billions of pounds a year.  As a consequence, millions of working days are lost. …

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The NHS Mandate 2017-18

The Government’s Mandate to NHS England for 2017-18 has been published. This sets out annual deliverables against the seven objectives to 2020. All of these objectives are relevant to musculoskeletal services, but one has been added which makes specific reference to MSK data. This is in relation to the Government’s goal to reduce the disability employment gap and says the NHS should:

“Work with Government to identify opportunities for regular collection of data about incidence, prevalence, clinical activity and outcomes of musculoskeletal patients and services in England.”…

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Rheumatology Forum at the RCN Congress

The Royal College of Nursing Congress runs from 13th – 17th May in Liverpool Arena & Convention Centre.

The RCN Rheumatology Forum will be facilitating a fringe meeting on the 16th May 2017 at 1pm, at which Rheumatology Nursing will be showcased to a wide range of nurses, working in a wide variety of health care settings. All those interested are welcome to attend.

 

Updated Biologic therapies practitioner

The fourth edition of this guidance document will soon be published online.…

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Updated LUPUS UK Publications

In the past month LUPUS UK has published updated versions of three of our information leaflets/booklets. These publications were updated to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Information Standard and reflected the most up-to-date evidence.

Physical copies are available to order free of charge from LUPUS UK National Office, or you can read/download them on our website by following the hyperlinks:

 

Contribution to the Scottish Medicines Consortium’s (SMC) consultation of the use of Benlysta (belimumab) in SLE

Benlysta (belimumab) is due to be discussed by the SMC and a decision made for its use by certain SLE patients in Scotland.…

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DMARDs guideline for prescriptions and monitoring

The latest guidance is out for the prescription and monitoring of non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). It’s aimed at primary and secondary care practitioners managing patients with rheumatic disease in the UK.

Significant updates include:

(1) Harmonisation of monitoring schedules, recommending that all DMARDs that require laboratory monitoring follow the same frequency of testing

(2) More nuanced discussion of the use of methotrexate in lung disease is provided, drawing from the two large meta-analyses recently published.

(3) Significant change is made regarding the evaluation of retinal toxicity for hydroxychloroquine users:

Lead author Dr James Galloway, Senior Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London says:
“These updates have two major focuses: firstly, streamlining monitoring schedules wherever possible, given the myriad of different regimens across drugs, and most of the schedule variations were somewhat arbitrary in their origins; second, to review and incorporate the evidence base available, acknowledging several key publications that have emerged since the first guidance.…

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