Health Policy | ARMA

NASS Patients’ Choice for good health and care practice

The AS-it-is Patient Voice & Patient Choice campaign launches on 2 November 2016 in the Houses of Parliament.

It aims to:

Promote the upcoming National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Guidelines for Spondyloarthritis
Celebrate existing good practice by health care professionals
Promote written care plans

NASS believes proper implementation of the Guidelines will help to improve the current 8.5 year average delay to diagnosis for people with axial spondyloarthritis, including ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

NASS are celebrating good practice by healthcare professionals through our Patients’ Choice Awards.…

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We need to rethink “best treatment”

by Paul Hitchcock, Chief Executive Officer of the British Acupuncture Council

We have an ageing population. Many of that population have multiple conditions. We have already reached a situation where the provision of health and care is problematic under the current system; too many people with too many conditions with insufficient cash or workforce capacity to enable their support.

Yet the system continues to take a reductive approach to treatments and support services. Commissioners or policy makers stop services or treatments when a new innovation is proposed so that, although they can claim to be cutting edge, in reality the system provides less support to fewer people and reduces patient choice at the same time.…

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Westminster Hall Debate and DCLG consultation

Westminster Hall Debate

We have, through our ‘Arthritis Champions’ in the House of Commons, moved a backbench debate in Westminster Hall, to be held on Thursday 20 October. This debate will be discussing, primarily the themes of Arthritis Research UK’s Share Your Everyday campaign and we will be briefing MPs as such.

In support of our campaign, we aim for this debate to be an opportunity for MPs to share their own experiences of arthritis in order to encourage more people with arthritis to tell with their own stories about living with the condition and how it affects their day-to-day lives.…

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World Health Organisation landmark action plan will tackle tidal wave of musculoskeletal conditions

The Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, an alliance of prominent health charities, professional and research bodies, today [Thursday 15^th 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.…

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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?…

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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.…

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Guest Blog: RightCare and MSK: increasing value and reducing variation

by Professor Matthew Cripps, National Director of NHS RightCare

It’s now six months since NHS RightCare was launched nationally. This involved 65 local health economies (‘wave one’) receiving support and facilitation to embed the approach, and we’re still growing as a programme to roll out to the 144 remaining health economies in England at the end of 2016.

Things are progressing at pace with the first 65, we’re at the exciting point now where CCGs have confirmed their big opportunities for improvement, taking Commissioning for Value insight as their starting point.…

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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.…

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Guest Blog: All hands on deck to tackle rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases

by Dr Peter Lanyon, Consultant Rheumatologist, Nottingham University Hospital;
President, British Society for Rheumatology

Two months ago, at our annual national conference on the banks of the Clyde, it was a privilege to start my elected term of office as President of the British Society for Rheumatology. And I’m very excited to be serving BSR in this role. Our members are front-line clinicians, nurses and allied health professionals working across the health community. Every day, and sometimes 24/7, they deliver care to try and improve the lives of people living with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.…

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Summary of the Fibromyalgia event in the Parliament

On the 11^th May 2016, a Fibromyalgia Awareness event took place in Parliament, hosted by Andrea Jenkyns MP, and organised by Fibromyalgia Action UK (FMA UK).

The event was well attended by MPs, researchers, healthcare professionals, students and people living with fibromyalgia, their families and carers. There will be some exciting outcomes of this event resulting in greater collaboration of different stakeholders in the fibromyalgia field: patient organisations, healthcare professionals, researchers and policy makers.

During the event Dr Toby Garrood, a consultant from the Guy’s Hospital fibromyalgia clinic, gave an overview of the award-winning and excellent fibromyalgia multidisciplinary service, which can act as a role model to be replicated easily and for low-cost in rheumatology departments of hospitals across the country.…

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