Category: Arthritis News

COVID-19 / Coronavirus info

Last updated 8/11/22

This page lists the most relevant information we can find on COVID-19 relevant to people with MSK conditions. We update this page as new information becomes available. It includes information for professionals, patients, parents and guidance for Wales and Scotland.

Six key resources for MSK.

Key resources

Latest advice for England.

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Good communication with patients whose planned care has been disrupted by COVID-19.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/good-communication-with-patients/

Guidance on those eligible for free lateral flow testing in England after 1 April

Government announcement 

Covid-19 community based treatments

Access community-based treatments for coronavirus (COVID-19) updated 6 September 2022

How to access treatments and prescription charges

COVID-19 Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel will determine which at-risk patient cohorts could be eligible for COVID-19 therapies.…

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You are not alone; keep active, stay connected

Mr Jones is 72 today. A few years ago, he would have celebrated with friends in the pub, but now the pain in his back makes is hard to go out and he gets tired quickly. So, he’s at home watching TV while his wife cooks a meal. He spends a lot of time watching TV and his back seems to be getting worse, but his GP says there is nothing she can do for him but being more active will help.…

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Health Equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 Years On

We know that musculoskeletal conditions are much more prevalent in deprived areas so the publication of this report is very relevant to addressing the social determinants of MSK health. It has been produced by the Institute of Health Equity and commissioned by the Health Foundation to mark 10 years on from the landmark study Fair Society, Healthy Lives (The Marmot Review).

The report highlights that:

  • people can expect to spend more of their lives in poor health
  • improvements to life expectancy have stalled, and declined for the poorest 10% of women
  • the health gap has grown between wealthy and deprived areas
  • place matters – living in a deprived area of the North East is worse for your health than living in a similarly deprived area in London, to the extent that life expectancy is nearly five years less.
…

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Right on Time campaign

Versus Arthritis is campaigning to ensure that everyone who needs a joint replacement gets timely access to treatment. Hundreds of thousands of joint replacement operations take place each year. More than 90% of people who have hip and knee replacements have osteoarthritis.

At the end of February, Versus Arthritis released figures revealing that, in one year alone, almost 30,000 people with arthritis in England waited more than the guaranteed 18-weeks to start treatment. This has been featured in the Telegraph, with more coverage to follow.…

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NRAS accessing advanced therapies

Accessing Advanced Therapies (biologics, biosimilars, oral JAK inhibitors)

For some time, NRAS has been concerned that some Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) have been artificially restricting access to advanced therapies (biologics, biosimilars/JAK inhibitors) and undertook a Freedom of Information request to all CCGs about this. Following discussions with NHS England on behalf of RA patients about this practice, which was felt to be unethical, NRAS is delighted to share with you news of the attached recently published statement from the NHS Regional Medicines Optimisation Committee.…

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GP contract agreement England 2020/21

The final version of the GP Contract which sets out requirements and funding for the new Primary Care Networks was published in February. Some significant changes were made in response to consultation, including one relevant to the delivery of “additional roles” which, amongst other things, will help fund the roll out of First Contact Practitioners. The two main changes are an expansion of the roles and an increase in the funding from 70% to 100% of salary. Many of the new roles are also important for MSK health.…

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iO research and reports

The Institute of Osteopathy has recently published additional reports, including the impact of Multidisciplinary management of low back pain and sciatica in primary care. This impact report provides an overview of the Plymouth Community Back Pain Service which has delivered a sustainable primary care service with measurable outcomes run by a multidisciplinary team including GPs, osteopaths, cognitive behavioural therapists and physiotherapists.

To see all recent publications, visit the iO Research and Reports page.

NICE Quality Standard – Rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s

In January 2020, NICE published an update on the Quality Standard for rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s (QS33). This quality standard covers assessing, diagnosing and managing rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

NICE thanked organisations that submitted comments during the consultation period. All consultation comments were considered by the advisory committee (QSAC) and are documented in the minutes of this meeting.

Also available on the website is a summary of the consultation comments prepared by the NICE quality standards team and the full set of consultation comments.…

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Third APPG for Axial Spondyloarthritis

The third meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Axial Spondyloarthritis took place on 29 January at Portcullis House in Westminster. The meeting focussed on the delay to diagnosis and included the launch of our Freedom of Information Inquiry report.

Huge thanks go to our speakers: Zoe Clark who gave an emotional account of her seven year wait for a diagnosis; Dr James Prior from Keele University who summarised the latest research into the area; Rebecca Adshead, physiotherapist at Whipp’s Cross Hospital, who gave an example of good practice, presenting on how the delay to diagnosis had been reduced locally; and finally Dr Raj Sengupta from the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases presented the draft Gold Standard to Diagnosis.…

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