The Office for National Statistics is consulting on a new measure for health in England, recognising that the nation’s health is an asset – as important to the economy and wider society as it is to the individual. The proposed health index not only measures how healthy people are today but also looks at the wider social and economic circumstances that will influence our – and the next generation’s – ability to live healthy lives in the future. Tracking these indicators over time provides the opportunity to finally look beyond GDP as a sole measure of national success.…
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Author: Garreth
Inclusion Health: applying All Our Health
Public Health England
Guidance
Inclusion Health: applying All Our Health
Published 11 January
Published by Public Health England, this guide is part of ‘All Our Health’, a resource that helps health and care professionals prevent ill health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice. The information below will help front-line health and care staff use their trusted relationships with individuals, families and communities to take action on inclusion health.
‘Inclusion health’ is a catch-all term used to describe people who are socially excluded, typically experience multiple overlapping risk factors for poor health (such as poverty, violence and complex trauma), experience stigma and discrimination, and are not consistently accounted for in electronic records (such as healthcare databases).…
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Royal College of GPs and EDS toolkit
by Ehlers-Danlos Support UK
We were very disappointed to be told just before Christmas that the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) wanted to withdraw the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) toolkit for GPs. The College planned to remove the toolkit from the RCGP website at the end of January. The RCGP cited pressure on its limited resources as a result of the pandemic and contention around the toolkit from various sources as reasons for its decision. While we understood that the College wanted to prioritise use of its resources, the move would have been a huge backwards step for people with EDS and related conditions.…
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NHFD Annual Report
The challenge of the next decade: are hip fracture services ready?
The National hip Fracture Database (NHFD) has recently released its latest annual report focussing on the six NHFD key performance indicators used to monitor and drive up standards across the country. 2020 will no doubt prove to be one of the most challenging years in the history of the NHS. This report also presents the first data about the effect of COVID-19 on trauma units around the country and on outcome for patients with hip fracture who have COVID-19 when admitted to hospital or develop it after their operation.…
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NICE to develop Interventional Procedures Guidance
NICE is developing Interventional Procedures Guidance: Supercapsular percutaneously assisted total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis IP1842.
Hip osteoarthritis can cause pain, stiffness and difficulty walking. Standard surgery to replace the joint (total hip arthroplasty) involves cutting tendons and muscles and pulling the hip joint apart to insert the new metal joint. In this procedure, a small cut is made in the skin (percutaneous). Muscles and tendons are moved apart to access the hip joint. A metal joint is inserted without fully pulling the hip joint apart (supercapsular).…
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Osteopathy for mental health
As we all struggle to manage extended weeks of lockdown, it is more important than ever that you care for your mental wellbeing. If you are looking for some advice on how to keep your mental health in shape, visit Osteopathy for Health for some tips on how to help improve your physical and mental wellbeing.
RA disease not treated with advanced therapies
RA disease impact in patients not treated with advanced therapies; survey findings from the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society
by NRAS
Recently NICE published a Final Appraisal Document in respect of a new JAK inhibitor (filgotinib – Jyseleca) giving access to people with RA who have so called ‘moderate’ disease in addition to those with ‘severe’ disease. This is the first time NICE have broadened their eligibility criteria for access to advanced therapies and is warmly welcomed by NRAS. This comes at the same time as a paper published by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (P.…
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COVID-19 vaccination and MSK
Principles for COVID-19 Vaccination in Musculoskeletal and Rheumatology for Clinicians
(Version 12, 12 September 2022)
Amendment 12th September 2022: Document updated to include latest JCVI and NHSE guidance regarding autumn boosters using second generation bivalent COVID-19 vaccines and results of VROOM study (see section 23 and section 24 respectively)
Amendment 3rd April 2022: Document updated to include latest JCVI and NHSE guidance regarding spring 2022 boosters (see section 22)
Amendment 3rd December 2021: Document updated to include latest JCVI guidance regarding boosters for patients who were eligible for a third primary dose (see end of section 21)
Amendment 13 October 2021: Document updated to include revised BSR wording about third primary dose (section 20).…
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Making Moves with Didy Veldman, leading International Choreographer
Recently, NRAS members who signed up took part in a dance and movement programme for people living with RA with leading International Choreographer, Didy Feldman, over Zoom, with Didy leading from the Royal Ballet School.
Dutch-born Didy Veldman trained as a ballet and contemporary dancer in Amsterdam. She danced professionally for fourteen years and began choreographing in 1987. She has created new works nationally and internationally for Birmingham Royal Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the Royal Ballet School in London, to name but a few.…
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The new NRAS Young Persons Project Co-Ordinator
by Debbie Wilson, NRAS
I am the new Young Persons Project Co-Ordinator at NRAS. I come to this role with a very personal experience of JIA. I have had JIA nearly all my life and a few years ago my daughter was diagnosed with it too. Thankfully, due to medical advances, the disease can be easier to manage. Unfortunately, some things have not changed: mainly the lack of understanding and awareness of JIA. There is still the stigma of having JIA and I was quite shocked that my daughter got the same comments I used to get, such as: “my granny has that”; “that’s an old person’s disease”; “you are too young to get arthritis.”…
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