Arthritis News | ARMA

HSJ Investigation: ‘Unwarranted and unfair’ disparity in elective surgery revealed

Wide variations in elective surgery rates among the most affluent and deprived areas in England raise serious questions about the use of NHS resources, a leading public health expert has warned.

1 October, 2015 | By Lawrence Dunhill, Health Service Journal.

HSJ investigation finds huge disparities in rates for elective surgery in affluent and deprived populations
Experts warn the variance raises serious questions about use of NHS resources
Disparity in elective surgery commissioning

HSJ’s investigation, which examined the rates for elective surgery funded by the clinical commissioning groups covering the 10 most affluent and 10 most deprived populations in the country, has revealed huge disparities.…

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A world where people can live active lives, free from arthritis pain

by Dr Wendy Holden, Consultant Rheumatologist

Around one in seven people in the UK currently live with arthritis. This figure is expected to rise to one in four by 2030 ^[1]. It is the leading cause of pain and disability, costing the NHS a staggering £5 billion a year ^[2]. One in five of us consult their GP about a musculoskeletal problem like arthritis each year, that’s more than 100,000 consultations for arthritis every day ^[3].

Around 15,000 children and young people live with the condition ^[4].

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Guest Blog – Gout deserves to be taken seriously

by Lynsey Conway, UK Gout Society Secretariat

I first became involved with the UK Gout Society 13 years ago. Like many people who have never experienced this excruciatingly painful condition, I had treated gout as a bit of a joke and had bought into the common misconception that it was solely an affliction of old men – and a product of high living. I soon realised, however, after reading many desperate letters and hundreds of heart-wrenching emails, that gout was not a laughing matter – and could affect anyone.…

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Guest Blog: Empowering our members to take action through self-management

by Shantel Irwin, CEO Arthritis Action

Corks were flying on June 18th 2015 for me and my team at Arthritis Action as we officially launched with our new name, new look and new direction.

The last 12 months have been transformational for our charity. After more than a year of research, review, redesign and reform, Arthritis Action finally relaunched at The King’s Fund to an audience of more than 100 members and guests from across the musculoskeletal health sector.

We were delighted to welcome so many friends and colleagues at our event, which gave us the chance to outline our rationale for change, what we stand for, what we do and where we’re heading.…

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Guest Blog: From desk to home caring – backs are a problem!

by Stuart Blackman, CEO of BackCare

I am really enjoying working with BackCare as the new Chief Executive. We are at the cusp of a new phase of development of the charity. BackCare is the UK’s national back pain charity, founded 1968 – our mission is to turn the tide on back pain, the world’s leading cause of human disability. We do this through research, education and outreach initiatives.

Our new website is now the primary platform through which we can reach out to our key stakeholders: patients, clinicians, researchers, educators and our corporate supporters.…

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Guest Blog: Fracture Liaison Services

By Anne Thurston, Health Sector Relations Manager, National Osteoporosis Society

This week, 18 months’ worth of furious activity finally came together in the launch of our Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) resources. This makes me so happy that I can’t think of it without doing a happy dance in my head!

Let’s start at the beginning. A Fracture Liaison Service is simply a dedicated co-ordinator whose sole purpose it is to find people who are aged over 50 years and have broken a bone.

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Guest Blog: Getting it Right First Time

by Mike Kimmons CB, Chief Executive, British Orthopaedic Association

On Monday 16 March, the BOA launched the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) report. GIRFT was commissioned in 2013 by the Secretary of State for Health and NHS England and published with their agreement. Evidence-based and solutions-oriented, the GIRFT team used multiple sources to compile a unique data set for each NHS Hospital Trust in England that provides elective orthopaedic services and constructed comparative performance dashboards with the objective of benchmarking good practice.

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