The Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, an alliance of prominent health charities, professional and research bodies, today [Thursday 15th September 2016] welcomed a ground-breaking World Health Organisation action plan to tackle a tidal wave of musculoskeletal conditions in Europe [1]. The Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in the WHO European Region, which was approved by WHO Europe’s Regional Committee today, includes specific priority actions by all European countries to stem the rise in musculoskeletal conditions and to improve overall health.…
Read more of this article
Category: Arthritis News
Guest Blog: How can we support people working and managing MSDs?
by Rob Yeldham, Director of Strategy, Policy & Engagement for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
Musculoskeletal disorders are the largest cause of disability in the UK. Some conditions may be caused by, or exasperated by, work. Others are not work related but impact on the ability of people to work. Only around six in ten working age people with an MSK are in work. Many people with arthritis are hiding their condition at work for fear of their employer’s reaction. So how can we support people working and managing MSDs?…
Read more of this article
We need to be speaking the language of decision-makers and commissioners
Whether at the individual, organisational or indeed national level, when we scan the horizon in front of us and try to set out the path ahead for ourselves, it is occasionally useful also to look back at where we have come from.
ARMA began life in 1972 as the British League Against Rheumatism, and in 1996 changed its name to what it is today. With time, our membership expanded and grew to include a broad range of organisations, both professional and patient-led, including the British Orthopaedic Association, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Arthritis Research UK and the National Osteoporosis Society – in addition to long-standing members such as the British Society for Rheumatology, Arthritis Care and NRAS.…
Read more of this article
Transforming care for people with MSK conditions
by Dr Jill Firth, BHPR President, Consultant Nurse in Rheumatology and Director for Service Improvement at the Pennine Musculoskeletal Partnership Ltd in Oldham.
Over the past 20 years of working as a special ist nurse, I have witnessed first-hand the changing face of care for people with Musculoskeletal conditions (MSK) – particularly Rheumatoid Arthritis – leading to better outcomes for patients.
This can, in part, be attributed to advances in treatment strategies, including biologic therapies, but is also a consequence of better access to care provided by a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) comprising consultant rheumatologists, specialist nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and podiatrists as a core nucleus.…
Read more of this article
For the NHS, multidisciplinary working is the way forward
It’s hard to describe a month like the one we’ve just had, which has been characterised by many positive things for our community, but overshadowed by external events. Like me, many of you will feel worried and dismayed at the result of the EU referendum. There is no denying that whatever the practical implications of it – politically, for the NHS, for our respective areas of work – and whatever actually ends up happening at the end of what could well turn out to be a long and winding road, this result casts tremendous uncertainty over the UK, and Europe, in many different ways and for some time to come.…
Read more of this article
Guest Blog: Solving the puzzle of Musculoskeletal Service transformation
by Professor Peter Kay, National Clinical Director for Musculoskeletal Services for NHS England.
I was asked to write a blog to raise the profile of my MSK work supported by the Long-Term Conditions Team and, through the cryptic labyrinth of various schemes and initiatives, share with you my thoughts on how we can support sustainable, cost-effective transformation whilst still championing the more person-centred approach.
Easy task right?
Increasingly we are faced with the challenge of implementing population-level interventions in a bid to tackle unwarranted variation within our local areas.…
Read more of this article
Helping people to escape the misery of chronic joint pain – A musculoskeletal network in action.
by Professor Michael Hurley, Clinical Director,
Musculoskeletal Programme, Health Innovation Network South London
Along with many others in the musculoskeletal community, I get a tired of hearing about other long term conditions which continuously feature in the headlines – both in national media and NHS policy. Poor old ‘common’ joint pain is neither sexy nor headline-grabbing, but we all know how much it impairs the quality of life – none more so than the people who suffer it.
In the musculoskeletal programme of the Health Innovation Network (South London’s Academic Health Science Network http://www.hin-southlondon.org/clinical-areas/musculoskeletal…
Read more of this article
Realising the Value of People and Communities
The “At the Heart of Health” report, from the Health Foundation and Nesta, explores the value of people and communities in healthcare, in the context of, and in support of the NHS Five Year Forward View vision.
Realising the Value of:
- Peer support
- Self-management education
- Health coaching
- Group activities to support health and wellbeing
- Asset-based approaches in a health and wellbeing context
What are person-centred and community-centred approached for health and wellbeing?
How have these approaches developed?
Click to download and open the report document (PDF, 865kb), an overview of the evidence and benefits and their impact.
Guest Blog: Looking back to move forward
by Colin Beevor, Matron and Service Manager, Musculoskeletal OPD Services
They say “it’s good to talk” and after the inaugural ARMA Portsmouth Network Meeting, I would agree.
Although leading up to the event you are always worried that you will not get the numbers turning out – I’ll say here that planning was the key to success – I shouldn’t have worried. A small number of the ARMA Local network got behind the event, giving their support and assisting with the details.…
Read more of this article
Preventing musculoskeletal disorders has wider impacts for public health
From the Public Health Matters blog, Public Health England
Kevin Fenton, 11 January 2016 — Health and Wellbeing
Life expectancy in England has risen by more than five years in the past two decades, yet for many people, a longer life will involve more years spent in ill-health.
Earlier this year, The Global Burden of Disease project – an international study ranking the diseases and risk factors that cause death and disability – highlighted the toll that musculoskeletal conditions are taking on people’s health.…
Read more of this article