Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance
Influencing policy and care together for best lifelong musculoskeletal health
In July LUPUS UK released the newest edition in their range of publications, ‘LUPUS: Bone Health & Osteoporosis’.
The factsheet was kindly written by Dr David Armstrong (Consultant Rheumatologist, Altnagelvin Hospital, Londonderry).
This factsheet can be downloaded from the LUPUS UK website at www.lupusuk.org.uk/publications/ and physical copies are available from the National Office in Romford.
British Society for Rheumatology publishes first UK guideline for the management of adults with Primary Sjögrens Syndrome
The first UK guideline on the care of adults with Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome has been published today by the British Society of Rheumatology. The guidelines are accredited by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) which recognises robust, evidence-based and critically evaluated high-quality processes applied to developing a clinical guideline.
Clinical guidelines are particularly important for patients with less common conditions like Sjögren’s because health professionals can lack confidence in managing treatment and care.…
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On the 26th May 2017, the British Society for Rheumatology released an important update to their most ‘in demand’ clinical guideline, on the Management of Gout. Gout is the most searched for term on the BSR website and it’s is a particularly painful form of arthritis which is becoming more common, yet continues to be poorly managed.
This latest Guideline is for all UK doctors and allied health professionals in primary and secondary care who look after and treat patients with the condition.…
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Did you miss getting to the Rheumatology Conferences in 2016?
If yes, don’t worry. We are pleased to say that some of the presentations from both events are now available on the Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust You Tube page.
Did you know that there are two options for the Patient Advice and Information line?
Email: Rheumatology.pail@porthosp.nhs.uk
and
Telephone: 02392286935
Please ensure that you leave the correct information:
Full Name
Date of Birth
Hospital Number
Brief information about what your call/email is about
Colin Beevor – Matron and Service Manager
Department of Rheumatology
Queen Alexandra Hospital
Cosham, PO6 3LY
02392286142
The National Osteoporosis Society is embarking on a new project designed to support people with osteoporosis and fragility fractures to exercise safely. The charity is calling on health professionals and people with the condition to submit any questions they have about exercise and osteoporosis as they scope a Consensus Statement.
The new statement will be used to help standardise the information people living with osteoporosis receive about the best exercises and physical activity to safely strengthen bones. It will also help the National Osteoporosis Society to produce new publications and web based resources on exercise for people with the condition to use, based on the best evidence and expertise.…
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World AS Day was on Saturday 6 May. Every year, our aim on the day is to increase awareness and understanding of AS.
We produced a short video called ‘What is AS’ explaining the condition and how it affects people and asked people to share it on social media. We were delighted to have a reach of more than 55,000 on Facebook alone. This is the first in a series of videos.
Click here to open https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfoivx6Sgtc
We also worked with the BMJ this month to produce an infographic of the NICE Spondyloarthritis Guideline.…
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BRITISH SOCIETY FOR RHEUMATOLOGY AND ROYAL COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS LAUNCH INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE CARE PATHWAYS FOR PEOPLE WITH INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS
In May 2017, BSR and the RCGP have launched a joint Quality Improvement project to improve care for people living with inflammatory arthritis. The joint project will deliver a suite of online resources to help improve pathways between primary and secondary care, with a focus on reducing delays to diagnosis and creating standardised, shared care agreements. The recent National Clinical Audit for rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis revealed delays in referral from primary care to specialist treatment for people with suspected inflammatory arthritis, with only 17% of cases being referred within the three days recommended by NICE.…
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We’ve just added to the ARMA website two links to recent webinar presentations: the “New models of MSK Masterclass”, presented by Christian Verrinder and Giles Hazan; and the “Work & Health MSK webinar,” lead by Tony Woolf in participation with ARUK and BSR.
Dr Christian Verrinder and Dr Giles Hazan share aspects of their experience to date in MSK commissioning, including their thoughts on: process, structure, design, procurement, implementation and review. Their webinar explores how we can build on current service provision for people with MSK conditions in order to identify how and where current services and support can be improved and reflects how this new programme of work has influenced the commissioning of MSK services.…
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Transport for London (TfL) is launching the ‘Please offer me a seat’ scheme for people who find it difficult to stand when using public transport. The badge and accompanying card were created following requests from customers who struggle to get a seat because their need is not immediately apparent to other travellers. The badge and card remove the awkwardness of customers having to explain their need for a seat to others.
Last autumn, TFL held a six week trial with 1,200 people to test the new badge and card.…
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The Government’s Mandate to NHS England for 2017-18 has been published. This sets out annual deliverables against the seven objectives to 2020. All of these objectives are relevant to musculoskeletal services, but one has been added which makes specific reference to MSK data. This is in relation to the Government’s goal to reduce the disability employment gap and says the NHS should:
“Work with Government to identify opportunities for regular collection of data about incidence, prevalence, clinical activity and outcomes of musculoskeletal patients and services in England.”…
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