Health Policy | ARMA

Guest blog: Why doesn’t it work?

by Dr Steven Boorman CBE, Director of Employee Health, Empactis,
Chair of the Council for Work and Health

As I head towards the milestone later this year of passing my thirtieth year in occupational health, I find myself optimistic mixed with the “glass half empty” of recognising that the same barriers remain in place: barriers to those who want to work with long term conditions. Over my career I have worked regularly with ARMA members and experts, and I have personal experience of working with a MSK condition.…

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New ADPH Policy Positions – A Life Course Approach to Public Health

The Association of Directors of Public Health has just published a series of statements examining good health across the life course, which are available to view here.

The policies set out a life-course approach to public health, exploring health and wellbeing, working well, healthy ageing, and health inequality.

See #adph18 on twitter.

All of the ADPH position statements (including those published previously) are can be seen online at the policy statements page on adph.org.uk website.

The Government’s Industrial Strategy for MSK

The UK Government’s Industrial Strategy represents a once-in-a-decade investment in new technologies and research in the UK, with our ageing society forming one of its flagship ‘Grand Challenges’. This £300m+ investment will focus on everything from earlier diagnosis of disease to developing new innovative products and technologies that help people maintain their independence as they age.

Arthritis Research UK has been keeping the Government aware of the importance and impact of tackling musculoskeletal conditions, and we have been working hard in meetings with civil servants and attending at ministerial roundtables to ensure the Government achieves its ambitions around ‘healthy ageing’.…

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The State of Musculoskeletal Health 2018

The State of Musculoskeletal Health 2018 is a resource for health professionals, policy makers, public health leads and anyone interested in musculoskeletal health. We believe that with the best information you can build awareness, make more informed decisions, feel more confident and ultimately help more people with musculoskeletal conditions. The resource was put together by Arthritis Research UK.

Using the best available data on prevalence, risk factors and comorbidities, the report lays out the key factors affecting musculoskeletal health, the economic benefits of musculoskeletal research, and describes the scale and impact of the problem.…

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The MSK First Point-of-Contact Model

Health Education England, together with South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit, has developed an easy-to-use tool to support clinicians, managers and commissioners in their efforts to forecast and monitor the impacts of MSK self-referral to first contact practitioners (FCP).

It is called the MSK First Point of Contact Model.

The model would be useful for anyone considering:

Writing a business case for a first contact practitioner service
Evaluating the impact of an already established FCP service
Planning a service improvement initiative within a MSK health system

You can find and download the model from ARMA’s Network Resources page.

NICE guideline on Joint replacement (primary): hip, knee and shoulder (March 2020)

The final scope and equality impact assessment for this NICE guideline have now been published, along with all the stakeholder comments that were received during consultation and the NICE responses to these comments.

The ARMA organisation was identified as a key stakeholder for this topic; NICE would like to thank the ARMA members for our continued involvement and interest in this guideline. The comments received during the consultation period helped to develop and refine the scope.

NICE will contact ARMA again when the draft guideline is released for consultation, and they ask that we prioritise sending them our comments.…

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Not just what to do

There is so much going on in the world of MSK it is sometimes hard to know where to start. I am constantly reminded of the vast range of good practice that exists out there. In the last few weeks I have heard about all kinds of activity, from trialling health trainers for joint pain in community settings, to the development of a toolkit for good MSK health for mobile workers.

But how do people working locally to improve services know what they might be able to achieve?…

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Addressing the workforce gap

Guest blog by Satjit Singh, Chief Executive, Society for Promoting Chiropractic Education

It is great that most of us will live to an age that our parents could never imagine. Better living standards, improved public health and an NHS accessible to all, have all helped.

This is excellent, but living longer means that we are likely to be working longer. It also means that for us to enjoy that longevity, we need to live active, fulfilling lives. Too many of the population are afflicted by ‘aches and pains’, mainly back and neck, i.e.…

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FSEM (UK) Responds to Draft Health and Care Workforce Strategy for England to 2027

The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK has responded to this Public Health England consultation with a focus on MSK services in the NHS.

The Faculty’s response emphasises that specialist clinicians are needed who understand the cause of MSK problems and are able to provide focused treatments as well as lifestyle interventions to manage and prevent MSK disorders. If the NHS could create MSK medicine consultants to lead services together with physiotherapy practitioners and GPs with a special interest, it would do a great service to the millions of patients that suffer from MSK disorders.…

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Musculoskeletal, falls, fractures & frailty: showcasing projects from the AHSN Network

A new guide has been published to showcase the extensive range of programmes being delivered by the AHSN Network to improve clinical services in the areas of musculoskeletal (MSK), falls, fractures and frailty, all key priorities for the NHS.

Collectively, MSK, falls, fractures and frailty have a major detrimental impact on patients, families and carers, and are a major cost to the NHS.

With a growing and ageing population, health and social care services need to be proactive in their response to this challenge.…

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