Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance
Influencing policy and care together for best lifelong musculoskeletal health
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.
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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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:
Health is dependent on so much more than healthcare. …
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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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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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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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About a year ago I joined parkrun and I still have the enthusiasm of a new convert. It’s a great way to start the weekend, running in a park with about 300 other people, improving your MSK health as you go, and then coffee and a chat after. So I was delighted to hear that parkrun UK and the Royal College of GPs have launched an initiative encouraging GP practices to become ‘parkrun practices’. GPs in this film talk about why they take part in parkrun and suggest it to patients.…
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The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produces guidance on the most effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease and ill health, and provide social care support. NICE guidance is based on research evidence and takes into account the views of people working in or using relevant services, and other stakeholder groups.
NICE are currently looking for people who have used technology to change their behaviour and improve their health and wellbeing, as well as their carers and those who advocate on their behalf (usually referred to as ‘lay members’ at NICE).…
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On 22 September 2018, NASS will be in Stirling, Scotland for the first in a series of regional Community Engagement Conferences. In a new style event for NASS, we will be bringing together healthcare professionals, people with AS, other patient organisations and researchers.
Find more event details here including the event programme.
NASS welcomes the publication by NICE of a set of Quality Standards for Spondyloarthritis. Now we need to ensure that they are implemented effectively across the country so that every AS patient, every time, gets early diagnosis and high quality care.
The NICE Quality Standard for Spondyloarthritis covers four areas:
