Health Policy

getUBetter proves a vital partner in supporting MSK waiting lists

As NHS services continue to navigate rising demand and resource challenges, getUBetter is proving to be a vital partner in enhancing MSK care and turning passive waiting lists into active ones. Recently deployed across Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT) as part of the national Get It Right First Time (GIRFT) MSK improvement programme, the getUBetter app is already making an immediate impact.

In collaboration with NHFT’s MSK Physiotherapy team, getUBetter delivered a bespoke, fully branded digital self-management solution within only 4 weeks.…

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More DEXA scanners roll out across England

DEXA-scanner expansion to deliver 29,000 extra bone-density scans a year.

Following sustained engagement by the Royal Osteoporosis Society, APPG on Osteoporosis and Bone Health and our fantastic ARMA supporters, DHSC has confirmed the roll-out of 13 additional DEXA scanners across England. The move is expected to create capacity for around 29,000 extra scans annually, supporting earlier diagnosis and shorter waits for patients.

Devastating postcode lottery for osteoporosis medication

The Royal Osteoporosis Society and the APPG on Osteoporosis and Bone Health have published a new report exposing how a “postcode lottery” in NHS prescribing leaves over 1 million women without access to vital bone-strengthening treatments. This analysis calls for unified, system-wide policy reform to ensure equitable medication pathways for all.

Read the full report here.

APPG on Osteoporosis – Access to Medicines Inquiry

ROS and APPG on Osteoporosis and Bone Health Inquiry Report on Access to Medicines

An upcoming report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Osteoporosis and Bone Health highlights the “critical need for system-wide reform” to address barriers to osteoporosis medication in the NHS, leaving millions of people at risk of life-threatening fractures.

Fractures caused by osteoporosis are preventable. A timely diagnosis and a treatment plan can prevent fractures. But there is an enormous treatment gap with two-thirds of people who need anti-osteoporosis medications missing out on them – around 90,000 people every year.…

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Supporting people with chronic conditions

The Welsh Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee has published its report Supporting people with chronic conditions.

The report makes a number of urgent recommendations to the Welsh Government to ensure that people currently living with chronic conditions are being properly supported and are receiving the services they need to manage their care.

You can read ARMA’s evidence to the Committee here.

You can read the full report here.

New patient decision aid on knee osteoarthritis for primary care

NHS England and NICE have worked together to produce new patient decision aids (also known as Decision Support Tools) last year, including one on knee osteoarthritis. These were developed in accordance with NICE’s standards framework for shared-decision-making support tools, and support making decisions about:

Self-management activities
Using treatments like tablets, creams and injections
Surgery, or wearing special shoes

Patient decision aids enable shared decision making by making treatment, care and support options explicit. They provide evidence-based information about the associated benefits/harms and help people consider what matters most to them in relation to the possible outcomes, including doing nothing.

NICE seeks lay specialist with self-management experience

NICE is looking to appoint two people with lived experience for an assessment of digital platforms for self-management of osteoarthritis and joint pain.

People who have experience of using a digital platform to self-manage their osteoarthritis and/or joint pain are welcome to apply for the lay specialist committee member role. Their experience could be from using platform themselves, caring for someone who has, or working to advocate for people with osteoarthritis. The deadline for applications, via the recruitment software from the vacancy page, is Thursday 6 Feb 2025.…

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ARMA responds to NHS 10-Year Plan Consultation

ARMA has submitted a response to the Government’s consultation on the NHS 10-Year Plan.

The submission was produced with ARMA members who gave their views in a series of meetings. The response calls for MSK conditions to have the long-overdue acknowledgment and equal footing alongside other long-term conditions and highlights the substantial impact that MSK conditions have on individuals’ lives, the NHS and the wider economy.

You can read ARMA’s submission here.

NHS Change – 10-Year Plan Consultation

The Government has launched ‘Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future’ to gather feedback to inform decision making on the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England.

Organisations are invited to share their responses to the consultation by 2 December via the online platform, change.nhs.uk.

Members of the public, as well as NHS staff and health experts are also invited to share their experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS, with the website remaining open for these responses until the start of next year.…

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Supporting healthy behaviours

by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA

It was a pleasure to join the CSP conference last week to speak about our Act Now report and what MSK physios can do to address health inequalities. As ever, lots of enthusiasm from people wanting to work on this. Our workshop was packed and 75% of people said they felt it was going to be difficult to do this but they were up for a challenge.

We asked what support would help people to make progress on inequalities.…

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