MSK & Arthritis News

MSK leading the way

by Sue Brown, CEO, ARMA

It’s been fantastic over the last few months to work with ARMA members to rise to the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. We now have to rise to a new challenge – resetting MSK services to be more personalised and to use shared decision making to ensure people receive the right treatment efficiently and effectively. ARMA’s vision for MSK and that discussed at the NHS England MSK leadership meetings are remarkably similar. Making that vision a reality will take the combined effort of all of us.…

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PCRMM 2020 Conference online

The PCRMM annual conference will be running again this year, 12-13 November.

We have been through unprecedented times over the past few months, and this year the conference will be held online. The PCRMM Society is determined not let to these extraordinary times affect the content of the conference which is promising to be as interesting and engaging as ever.

This year, the conference will have an FCP stream to encourage and strengthen the role of FCPs within primary care. There will also be fascinating lectures on pain management, osteoporosis, podiatry and spondyloarthritis amongst others, and the PCRMM Society looks forward to extending a welcome to more of you on this new interactive platform.…

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ARMA Supporter scheme

We know that many people value our newsletter, webinars and the fact that we provide a voice for MSK health. We are increasingly asked: given that our membership is made up of organisations, how can an individual support ARMA? For this reason, we have set up a new supporter scheme.

Full details can be found on our Become an ARMA Supporter page.

Women and young people hit hardest by lockdown

Study suggests women and young people have been hardest hit psychologically by coronavirus lockdown

A new study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, has looked at the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic on population mental health.

  • It found that there was an overall increase in mental distress in people aged 16 years and older in the UK.
  • This did not affect all groups equally, with some subgroups showing marked increases. Factors most strongly linked with mental health deterioration were those associated with pre-existing health inequalities, such as gender and age.
…

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Guest blog: the Change Challenge Collaborative

by Greta McLachlan, Fellow at the Strategic planning and development cell, NHS England and Improvement, part of the Change Challenge Collaborative.

The change challenge collaborative is a group of professionals who have come together to work across the MSK, orthopaedic and rheumatology specialties to try and capture beneficial changes that have occurred within the NHS during COVID- 19. The aim being to try and capture these changes and ideas to ensure that these innovations are not lost when the NHS comes out of its pandemic measures.…

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Gold Standard Time to Diagnosis

Help end the 8.5-year delay in the diagnosis of axial SpA (AS)

A new programme that aims to end the 8.5-year delay to diagnosis for people living with axial Spondyloarthritis (axial SpA) was launched on 15 July 2020.

Gold Standard Time to Diagnosis will set the world’s first Gold Standard to reduce the average time to diagnosis in axial SpA (AS) to just one year. The consultation process, which is phase one of the programme, was launched at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on axial Spondyloarthritis.…

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Launch of brand new JIA-at-NRAS website

Since 2019, NRAS has been working hard on improving information provision to members, supporters and the wider Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) community. 

The latest publications, updates and activities for JIA-at-NRAS represent a huge support resource for those who need it. A priority for NRAS – and an expectation from those they support – is an easy-to-navigate, user friendly, informational website, because this is the primary route for people to discover the organisation.

NRAS is excited to launch the new and improved JIA-at-NRAS website!…

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RA Awareness Week: 7-13 September 2020

With RAAW 2020, NRAS aims to educate and inform the public about exactly what rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is and how it impacts those living with the condition. This year, and taking into account recent events, the focus will be on ‘Mental Wellbeing’ and the ways in which you can improve your mental health and wellbeing.

 

Some areas of focus will be: learning new skills, connecting with people, being more physically active, mindfulness, giving and kindness. Throughout the week NRAS will also share some personal stories, raise awareness, and fundraise to support those living with RA. …

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NICE publishes new guidelines on elective surgery, planned care

A new COVID-19 rapid guideline: arranging planned care in hospitals and diagnostic services NICE guideline [NG179] has been released by NICE. The publication makes recommendations for how these services should be organised to balance the risks associated with covid-19 and the potential harms that could arise from delays in elective treatment and diagnostic procedures.

The guidance states that people having planned care involving any form of anaesthesia and sedation should follow social distancing and hand hygiene measures for 14 days prior to admission – a change from 14 days of self-isolation.…

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Webinar: Women and Axial Spondyloarthritis: diagnosis and management

Friday 9 October 2020, 12.30 – 1.30pm

Men with Axial SpA are more likely than women to experience changes to the bones and fusion, and thus they can be picked up using x-ray. Women are more likely than men to experience inflammation rather than fusion, which is visible on MRI but not on x-ray. In this webinar, three consultant rheumatologists will consider what this means for diagnosis and management the evidence, research and case studies. It will also consider issues related to pregnancy and co-morbidities.…

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