Author: Garreth

Ask your MP to attend drop-in event on Aids and Adaptations

Versus Arthritis is excited to report that over 1,000 people have answered the survey on aids and adaptations.

This has provided us with some really useful evidence, which VA will share with MPs next month in Parliament. Versus Arthritis are organising a drop-in session on 20 March 2019 for MPs across the UK.

At the event, MPs will have a chance to meet people with arthritis, find out about the aids and adaptations that have had a positive impact on their lives, and learn about the obstacles that people have faced in accessing aids and adaptations.…

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NHSE planning and contracting guidance summary

Since the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) was published on 7 January 2019, the NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance 2019/20 has been released. It gives guidance on how the additional funding settlement for the NHS should be used.

Key points of interest are:

 It is the start of the process of producing the local plans that will be the implementation of the NHS LTP. For 2019/20, every NHS trust, NHS foundation trust and clinical commissioning group (CCG), will need to agree organisation-level operational plans which combine to form a coherent system-level operating plan.…

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GP contract reform

Since the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) was published on 7 January 2019 a new document, Investment and evolution: A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement The NHS Long Term Plan, has been released which includes the roll out of the Primary Care Networks model. Here’s a summary of the relevant MSK elements.

The publication covers the following areas:

  • Addressing the workforce shortfall
  • Solving Indemnity Costs
  • Improving the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)
  • Introducing the Network Contract DES
  • Going ‘digital-first’ and improving access
  • Delivering new network services
  • Guaranteeing investment
  • Supporting research and testing future contract changes
  • Schedule of future contract changes and development work

Workforce

Workforce is identified as the priority for primary care.…

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MSK health in the construction industry

We all know that MSK is one of the two biggest causes of sickness absence in the UK. It’s perhaps no surprise that this is even more true in the construction sector. Every year, occupational ill‐health costs construction employers £848million in reduced productivity, sick pay, cover for absence and replacing staff who leave because of ill health. 76% of this relates to MSK conditions. In February, ARMA brought together some key players in the construction sector with stakeholders such as Department for Work and Pensions and Health and Safety Executive, to look at what might be done to improve this situation.…

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How to integrate mental and physical healthcare for long term musculoskeletal conditions

Friday 29 March 2019, 3:00pm

The importance of integrating psychosocial care into the treatment of long term musculoskeletal conditions is well established. What would this look like in practice? Using the example of the 3 Dimensions for Long Term Conditions service at King’s Health Partners this webinar will cover why and how to provide and effective integrated service which benefits patients and works for clinicians. The 3 dimensions service is not an MSK service, but the approach would work equally well in supporting people with MSK conditions.…

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Universal Personalised Care – a summary

Since the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) was published on 7 January 2019, the Universal Personalised Care: Implementing the Comprehensive Model has been published.

The document defines personalised care: people have choice and control over the way their care is planned and delivered based on ‘what matters’ to them and their individual strengths, needs and preferences.

There are six components to the model:

  1. Shared decision making
  2. Personalised care and support planning
  3. Enabling choice, including legal rights to choice
  4. Social prescribing and community-based support
  5. Supported self-management
  6. Personal health budgets and integrated personal budgets.
…

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MSK Core Offer

ARMA has welcomed the inclusion of references to MSK in the NHS Long Term Plan. The real challenge is how to implement this in the local NHS plans. ARMA has set out the “core offer” of MSK services and support which need to be implemented locally if the ambition of the long term plan is to be realised.

The NHS plan states: “Longer-term health conditions also make an increasing contribution to the overall burden of disease. Mental health, respiratory and musculoskeletal conditions are responsible for a substantial amount of poor health and place a substantial burden on the NHS and other care services.”…

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BMJD World Congress 2019

The 7th World Congress on Controversies, Debates & Consensus in Bone, Muscle & Joint Diseases (BMJD) will take place October 17-19, 2019 in Taipei, Taiwan.

This is your chance to interact with international experts from all areas of rheumatology in one place.

The BMJD aims to reach consensus on controversial issues through debates and expert opinion, and provide updates on major topics of interest for your practice.

BMJD is a comprehensive Congress fully devoted to clinical controversies in bone, muscle and joint Diseases.

New Webinar: Managing child bearing with chronic MSK disease

Managing women of child bearing potential living with chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease
Wednesday 3 April 2019, 2.30pm-3.30pm

This webinar will cover why it is important to appropriately plan a patient’s pregnancy journey, to minimise disease activity to ensure an optimal outcome for mother and baby, and how healthcare professionals can ensure they initiate conversations around family planning at an early stage.

Disease onset for patients living with chronic inflammatory disease (RA, PSA, axSpA and PSO), tends to overlap with peak female reproductive ages.…

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Guest blog: How your local pharmacy can help

by Leyla Hannbeck, Director of Pharmacy at NPA

People living with musculoskeletal conditions are often taking several prescribed and over-the-counter medicines, so come into frequent contact with their local pharmacist. For example, someone with arthritis may be taking Co-Codamol for pain relief, patches for heat therapy and amitriptyline for depression. (ARMA’s policy paper on mental health is a cogent reminder about the complex interplay of mental and physical conditions).

But even frequent visitors to pharmacies may not be aware of the full range of NHS services available there.…

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