by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA
At the end of Bone and Joint Week (12 – 20 October) I reflect on how much things have changed in just ten days. It is an increasingly worrying time for both healthcare professionals and people with MSK conditions. The response to Covid-19 has already had a significant impact on the MSK health of the nation. The need for good MSK services has grown. During lockdown people worked from makeshift home offices, were less active and many were afraid to use NHS services even when they needed them.…
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ESCAPE-pain has been awarded the ‘MSK Care Initiative of the Year’ at the HSJ Value Awards 2020.
With cases of COVID-19 currently rising across the UK, there are discussions of a second wave resulting in a spike in COVID-19 -related hospital admissions this autumn. In the first wave many of the activities of the NHS were put on hold as a precaution to preserve capacity. This was understandable in the face of a rapidly escalating and unpredictable threat. However, the BOA is keen to help ensure that in the event of a second wave the normal care of our patients is only suspended as a consequence of absolute necessity.… 
Versus Arthritis has launched a new free physical activity programme, Let’s Move with Leon, designed and presented by exercise expert Leon Wormley who specialises in working with people with arthritis and related conditions. The programme consists of weekly 30-minute movement sessions delivered right to a subscriber’s email inbox. Leon’s classes are a holistic, full-body programme and – they’re great fun!
In July and August 2020, NRAS ran a survey asking about the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on the working lives of people living with rheumatoid arthritis or another form of inflammatory arthritis.
The NHS Change Challenge used crowdsourcing to identify almost 200 initiatives introduced during lockdown which proved beneficial. The project is now working to write these up in more detail so that we can publish them back onto the site for further comments and discussion. Due to the overwhelming responses received, the focus initially is on writing up the highest-scoring ideas based on impact and feasibility within each challenge area. 
The Patients Association has published a report of patient experiences of Covid-19. The results show the massive toll on all patients of the coronavirus pandemic and the emergency measures taken in response to it. Some patients reported good ongoing care, and were impressed by the way their local communities came together to support them.