Arthritis News | ARMA

The vital role of good MSK services

One thing I have been really struck by since starting this role is just how much musculoskeletal conditions impact across the breadth of a person’s life, and just how much unaddressed MSK conditions impact other parts of health services.

This month’s blog highlights how MSK conditions impact the ability of NHS staff to do their jobs. ARMA members Arthritis Research UK recently published a report on Musculoskeletal Conditions and Multimorbidity, which highlights how MSK conditions make dealing with other long-term conditions that much harder.…

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GP eLearning course for AS diagnosis

The current delay to diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) stands at 8.5 years. NASS are committed to reducing this delay to diagnose. There are many factors impacting on this delay but an important issue is the recognition of AS in primary care and prompt referral on to rheumatology.

NASS have worked in partnership with the British Society for SpondyloArthritis (BRITSpA) to sponsor an eLearning course on ankylosing spondyloarthritis (axial spondyloarthritis) (AS) on the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) website. The course aims to educate GPs about AS.…

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NICE Technology appraisal on bisphosphonates for osteoporosis

On 10^th July 2017, NICE issued a new Technology Appraisal (TA) for bisphosphonates which links the recommendations for drug treatments to advice on fracture risk assessment outlined in their earlier guidance. The TA is not intended to provide treatment thresholds but offers recommendations on cost-effective use of bisphosphonates when using fracture risk assessment as described in their guideline www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg146.

For the first time, these recommendations will apply to men as well as women.

The TA says that provided an individual meets the criteria for fracture risk assessment there should be no financial barrier to them receiving bisphosphonates if they have a fracture risk of at least 1% using FRAX or QFracture.…

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Assembly Members debate paediatric rheumatology

AMs in the National Assembly for Wales voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion calling for a full multidisciplinary paediatric rheumatology service to be developed in Wales. Despite Cabinet Members abstaining, 27 AMs voted to support the motion, with nine abstentions and none against. There is now significant pressure on the government to take action.

Arthritis Care Wales, the British Society for Rheumatology and the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society have been campaigning to ensure children with arthritis in Wales have access to vital services.…

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Guest Blog: NHS Staff Survey – Looking after our healthcare staff

By Chris Graham, Chief Executive, Picker Institute Europe

Arguments about the pressures on the NHS at a system level are well rehearsed; rising demand, financial restraint, and challenges around staffing numbers are well reported. But what of the impact of caring on healthcare professionals as people?

The NHS Staff Survey is an annual survey that aims to help providers to understand how it feels to work in the health service. In 2016, it recorded the experiences of more than 423,000 members of NHS staff – and provides fascinating insight into the health and wellbeing of NHS staff.…

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CEO update – What a difference a month makes.

What a difference a month makes. When I last wrote an introduction to the ARMA newsletter we were in the run up to an election. I’m not sure anyone expected the result to go quite the way it did. Instead of increasing their majority the Government now has no majority at all and will have to rely on the support of other parties to get their plans through. What will this mean for people with MSK conditions?

In some ways it will be yet another distraction.

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Management guideline for adults with Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome

British Society for Rheumatology publishes first UK guideline for the management of adults with Primary Sjögrens Syndrome

The first UK guideline on the care of adults with Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome has been published today by the British Society of Rheumatology. The guidelines are accredited by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) which recognises robust, evidence-based and critically evaluated high-quality processes applied to developing a clinical guideline.

Clinical guidelines are particularly important for patients with less common conditions like Sjögren’s because health professionals can lack confidence in managing treatment and care.…

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Learning paper from Wellbeing Our Way

National Voices’ Wellbeing Our Way programme has published a learning paper reflecting on its use of communities of practice to facilitate change across the voluntary sector over the last 3 years.

With a foreword from @Helen Bevan – and in the spirit of social learning – the publication reflects on our experiences over the last 3 years and shares reflections in order that others can learn from our successes and challenges.

Download Wellbeing Our Way’s learning paper.

Reaching new heights for the quality of care for people with musculoskeletal conditions

Guest blog by Liz Lingard, NHS RightCare Delivery Partner

Over the past 3 months I have joined the ‘Whole System MSK events’ that ARMA and NHS England have organised as the RightCare speaker. This was an opportunity to clarify the RightCare approach to everyone working across the system and how they can apply this in their local health economies. The core aim of RightCare aligns to what each of the ARMA partners aspires to achieve: ensure the right person is able to access the right care in the right place at the right time, making the best use of available resources to help deliver a sustainable NHS.

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Championing arthritis in parliament

Arthritis Research UK have created a new manifesto telling MPs what they can do to ensure that everyone with arthritis can have fuller lives. To make these recommendations a reality, it is vital that MPs across the country support people with arthritis through local and national activity. Prior to the general election we asked every candidate standing to be an Arthritis Champion and had 350 pledges with 24 candidates being elected to parliament. There are also 125 returning MPs who were Arthritis Champions in the previous Parliament.…

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