Author: Garreth

Registration for BOA Ortho Update 2021 course now open

The BOA Ortho Update Course 2021 (previously known as the BOA Instructional Course) will give delegates the opportunity to access new understanding and support preparation for the FRCS exam.

Saturday 9 January 2021 (AM)
Online (Zoom)

Given the current rise in COVID-19 cases across the UK the BOA has taken the decision to make this course fully virtual. The course will run for half a day on the morning of Saturday 9 January. Simon Hodkinson, BOA Honorary Secretary, Lisa Hadfield-Law, BOA Education Advisor and Hiro Tanaka, BOA Education Committee Chair have come to the decision that the BOA will not be providing CBDs in 2021.…

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What are the experiences of ethnic minorities with pain management?

invitation posterAn invitation to participate in research: We want to know your experiences of living with pain in London

Recent findings have shown that chronic pain affects up to 50% of the UK population [1]. Of this, Black adults have been found to have higher levels of “high-impact” pain in comparison to their White counterparts [2]. This disparity in the incidence of pain is also reflected in the contributory factors to pain. Researchers [1] have found many factors that are associated with the development of chronic pain including comorbidity, mental health and employment status – factors that are more prevalent in ethnic minorities [3] [4].…

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FSEM Membership Exam Part One going ahead

The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine is pleased to confirm that this year’s FSEM Membership Examination in Sport and Exercise Medicine Part One will go ahead as scheduled on 9 September 2020. To minimise disruption caused by COVID 19, the closing date for those wishing to sit the examination has been extended to 31 July 2020.

The examination is administered by the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, and places can be booked by visiting their website. It will be available at test centres in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Dublin and Kuala Lumpur.…

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If it doesn’t work for patients it doesn’t work

by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA

Covid-19 has brought out some amazing collaboration in MSK. Different parts of the system have been affected in different ways – the issues restarting surgery are enormous, there is a back log of people who need to see a rheumatologist, large numbers of staff from community services redeployed into covid wards and are now returning to their previous roles.

In the middle of all this have been patients, struggling to navigate a system in chaos. Unable to get treatment, planned surgery delayed, people in pain wondering when they might be seen.…

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Shielding update and factsheet

The government has announced a relaxation of the guidance to people in England who are clinically extremely vulnerable and therefore were advised to shield. (At the time of writing, guidance in the other nations had not changed). The chance of encountering coronavirus in the community has fallen: less than 1 in 1,700 are now estimated to have the virus, down from 1 in 500 four weeks ago. Whilst the relaxation is good news for many people who have gone months without leaving their houses, ARMA remains concerned that important protections are being lifted too soon.…

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Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) MSK standards and framework

Health Education England (HEE) in conjunction with the Musculoskeletal Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (MACP) has commissioned a piece of work to develop the operational aspect of the Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) MSK standards.

SOMM has been selected to be part of the MSK partnership task & finish group that will be focussing on developing mechanisms of governance and quality assurance of MSK practice as part of the accreditation route.

This piece of work will be completed in tandem with the production of an ACP MSK standards document to be used by multi professionals working towards ACP accreditation via HEE.

New guidance on corticosteroids

The guidance ‘Management of Patients with Musculoskeletal and Rheumatic Conditions on Corticosteroids’ has now been superseded by the following guidance, issued on 16 June 2020. It applies to:

Management of patients with musculoskeletal and rheumatic conditions who:

  • – are on corticosteroids
  • – require initiation of oral/IV corticosteroids
  • – require a corticosteroid injection

The new guidance can be read here [open PDF].

SOMM’s Injection Module Coordinator, Paul Hattam, has submitted his view on the guidance for corticosteroid injection that has been provided throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as an open letter to the CSP’s ‘Frontline’ magazine.…

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Important new axial SpA & COVID-19 APPG Clinical Survey

NASS would like to bring your attention to an important new clinical survey on the impact that COVID-19 is having on axial SpA (AS) services and care.

The survey has been developed to help inform the work of a new inquiry that is being carried out by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Axial Spondyloarthritis. Findings from the survey will support the APPG, the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS) and other stakeholders in the area to identify key recommendations that can be put forward to help safeguard the provision of axial SpA (AS) care and ensure that patients are able to receive the best care possible in the months ahead.…

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Aspiring to Excellence 2020 programme deadline extended

The deadline for rheumatology teams to apply to the Aspiring to Excellence programme has now been extended to 18 September 2020. The programme is designed to encourage and recognise service improvement in axial SpA (AS) care and is a strategic partnership between NASS, BRITSpA and sponsoring companies AbbVie, Biogen, Novartis and UCB.

There are six rheumatology teams from across the UK currently involved in the programme who are progressing with projects aimed at improving the quality of care for patients with axial SpA (AS.)…

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