Health Policy | ARMA

ARMA response to the Darzi report

12/9/24

The Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) welcomes the publication of the Darzi report recognising the serious and widespread problems in the NHS. In particular we welcome the recognition of the need for an increased focus on community services and prevention.

As Lord Darzi recognises in his report, Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are one of the biggest causes of people being unable to work due to ill health in the UK. A significant proportion of this MSK ill health is preventable and community MSK services are vital to supporting all those with MSK conditions.…

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Ensuring MSK is in the new ten year plan

by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA

On the morning of 5 July 2024, ARMA members gathered on Zoom for initial reflections on the election result. The date had been set many months ago, and it wasn’t the ideal timing. Since then, we have had a little more time to see just what the new government would do. It is too early to say if this will be a turning point for the future of health and healthcare, but they have certainly not wasted any time.…

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Will you join us?

by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA

In the last few weeks we have had two new organisations join ARMA – welcome to Lupus UK and National Spine Network. As I write this, I have just received another inquiry about membership so that may soon be three new members.

This is a good time for ARMA’s membership to be growing. I’m writing in the run up to the general election. The airwaves are filled with parties bidding for your vote, making wild claims and undeliverable promises.…

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Parties commit to Better Bones

The Royal Osteoporosis Society would like to extend a huge thank you to all their colleagues across ARMA who have supported the Better Bones campaign for universal, quality Fracture Liaison Services (FLS).

The ROS is pleased to share that the Conservative government has recently committed to expand the use of FLS to achieve 100% coverage by 2030. This commitment was reaffirmed in the Conservative Party manifesto (page 42). The Labour party has matched this and Wes Streeting has stated that one of his first acts in government would be to task NHS England with developing a ‘rollout plan’, so every part of the country has access to FLS.…

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Versus Arthritis UK General Election Manifesto

Please read, support and share the Versus Arthritis 2024 General Election Manifesto calling on the next UK Government to take arthritis seriously.

For too long, arthritis has been dismissed and ignored, but with your help Versus Arthritis can start to change that. Arthritis impacts the lives of over 10 million people in the UK. It can impact a person’s ability to work, look after family or live well. Arthritis must no longer be dismissed by people in positions of power.

The Versus Arthritis manifesto is based on 5 key priorities for the next UK Government, which are:

Each of these five priorities has three specific key deliverables which we believe will make a significant difference to the lives of people living with arthritis.…

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BCA’s Westminster Roundtable

The British Chiropractic Association held a roundtable at Westminster, London, in April 2024 as part of Chiropractic Awareness Week and the BCA’s “Celebration of Chiropractic”. The event marked a momentous occasion as it was the first time in 30 years the profession hosted a roundtable at the House of Lords, Westminster, London. The purpose of which was to advance the BCA’s member-driven agenda to make chiropractic more integral to UK healthcare.

The United Kingdom, as with many developed and developing nations, is grappling with a rapidly escalating musculoskeletal (MSK) health crisis, significantly straining the National Health Service (NHS) and impairing workforce productivity.…

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Act Now Report Parliamentary Launch Event

Last week ARMA held a Parliamentary launch for the Act Now report on MSK inequalities.

We were delighted to be joined by so many members, contributors to the report and leaders in MSK. There was a palpable energy in the room and a sense of commitment across the breadth of MSK health to tackle inequalities together.

We were privileged to have MP Tom Randall, Chair of the Axial Spondyloarthritis All Party Group in Westminster, host the event. His recognition of the report’s timeliness underscored the importance of the report’s recommendations.…

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Act together. Act Now.

by Sue Brown, CEO ARMA

It is hard to overstate what a privilege it was to join so many of those who contributed to the Act Now report in Westminster last week. The report exemplifies the ARMA approach of doing things together which none of us could do alone. The energy in the room and the commitment to making a difference was amazing. I feel that MSK is demonstrating what NHS England’s Core20+5 approach looks like in practice.

Our recent FOI requests to ICBs have elicited some responses along the lines of MSK isn’t one of the Core20+5 conditions so we aren’t prioritising it.…

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