Author: Garreth

BMAS Acupuncture for Osteoarthritis course

BMAS have scheduled a one-day course on acupuncture as a treatment for osteoarthritis, focussing on the hip, knee and other large joints. The course is comprised of lectures, demonstrations and practical sessions to refresh existing skills to improve your expertise in this field.

Thursday 27 September 2018

Venue: NCVO, London N1 9RL
Price from £155
Lecturer: Dr Mike Cummings

This course is for regulated health professionals who use acupuncture in their practice and would like to revise or improve their knowledge and skills in the management of patients with osteoarthritis.…

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Parkrun update

Last month’s newsletter featured the partnership between parkrun and the RCGP. Since that newsletter came out we have been in contact with one of the parkrun ambassadors for people with arthritis and MSK conditions.

One of the things they do to make parkrun more accessible to that group is to run a closed Facebook group where people can share advice, tips, opinions and stories. So, if you know someone who would like a free weekly 5K walk or run, maybe suggest they join the group.

Launch of EULAR`s Edgar Stene Prize Competition 2019

On behalf of Nele Caeyers, Chair of the EULAR Standing Committee of People with Arthritis/Rheumatism in Europe (PARE); Dieter Wiek, EULAR Vice President, representing PARE; and Polina Pchelnikova, Working Group leader of the Edgar Stene Prize; the EULAR secretariat is delighted to announce the call for entries for the Edgar Stene Prize Competition 2019.

People with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders are invited to write about their personal experiences submitting essays on the topic of:

“My ideal employer – Work without barriers for people with RMDs”

Please find more information in the attached documents [both PDFs]:

Please take a careful look at the deadlines and entry rules mentioned in the respective documents.…

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Are we serious about reducing health inequalities?

Guest blog by Ms. Nuzhat Ali, National MSK Lead, Public Health England

Health inequalities are avoidable, unjust differences in people’s health that are persistent and difficult to shift, until and unless we actively focus on them as a society and a whole system.

People living in the most deprived areas in England can expect to spend nearly 20 fewer years in good health compared with those in the least deprived areas. The trajectory and the scale of the inequity worry me for at least three reasons – it is:

  • A societal injustice, one that has serious consequences for us all in many ways
  • A factor in slowing down life expectancy and healthy life expectancy
  • Increasing demand for health care which equates to increasing costs

Health is dependent on so much more than healthcare.  …

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MSK services survey – Please let us know what is happening locally

As part of our Clinical Networks Project, ARMA wants to find out what is happening to improve MSK services across England in order to see how we can best target our support for improvements. Please let us know what is happening in your area by completing this short questionnaire, which should take only five minutes to complete. The information is anonymous and we won’t name individual CCGs or STPs.

The report on the findings will give a national picture of what is happening and help all those working to improve services better target their work.…

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New framework launched to support early access for musculoskeletal conditions

Rapid access to the right care and supporting patients to be fully involved in their care is at the heart of a new capabilities framework launched today (31/07/2018) by NHS England, Health Education England, Public Health England, Skills for Health and the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA). The Musculoskeletal Core Capabilities Framework, aimed at practitioners who will be the first point of contact for people with musculoskeletal conditions, sets out to support improved access to care and ensure quality outcomes for patients.…

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Delay to diagnosis in musculoskeletal disease

Introduction

Across a range of MSK conditions there is evidence of significant delays to diagnosis which result in avoidable morbidity and mortality. GPs have a critical role to play in reducing time to diagnosis. This article looks at the delays, their impact, and the resources available to GPs to support their referral decisions. Our simple message is #ThinkRheum.

Delay to diagnosis

Significant delay from symptom onset to diagnosis has been seen across a range of MSK conditions: an average of 6.4 yeas in Lupus [1], 8.5 years in axial spondyloarthrtis (axial SpA) [2] and an estimated 10 years in Ehlers-Danos syndromes (EDS).…

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HMSA at European Parliament “Optimising Patient Outcomes” meeting

The HMSA has been out and about quite a bit this month, last week attending the “Optimising Patient Relevant Outcome Measures for sustainable healthcare systems and strong economies” meeting at the European Parliament.

On Wednesday 20 June, Hannah Ensor (HMSA trustee) and Lisa Renaut (HMSA volunteer) visited the European Parliament for this important meeting of the Brain Mind Pain interest group (thanks to Pain Alliance Europe for funding travel expenses.) The talks were both informative and interesting.

Cathalijne van Doorne, from Euro Ataxia, spoke about the practical importance of clinical research and interventions focusing on what would most benefit the patient – which is a big shift from what the clinical priorities might be.…

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EULAR Breakthrough evaluation survey

The EULAR PARE Editorial Board need your input regarding their publications, in order to assess their impact and value. They are looking for one person per organisation to give feedback on their e-Breakthrough newsletter and the hard copy, Breakthrough.

It would help them if you could fill out a short online survey by 30 July at the latest.

EULAR sends thanks in advance for your kind support!

Improving Patient Safety & Care 2019 conference

Continuous Learning, Measurement & Improvement
6 February 2019
Royal Society of Medicine, London

The inaugural Improving Patient Safety & Care 2018 conference will assess how the NHS are currently making a difference in regards to improved safety and care and how it intends to do so in the future through a transparent, constantly evolving patient-centred system. It is therefore a must attend in the conference calendar for anyone involved in the provision of patient-centred services across the NHS, be that frontline, clinical or board level personnel.…

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