Category: Wales

New bilingual website for MSK services and patient support

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have published their bilingual signposting information to better support people living with musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions. Their website, available in both English and Welsh, can also be accessed via the signposting padlet (downloadable posters and business cards) and allows patients to access a variety of information including local health services, self-referrals to physiotherapy and self-management.

The Signposting update was undertaken by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Boards MSK Joint Services Advisory Group in which members of the North Wales ARMA Network play an active role.

Living with RA in Wales?

A chance to meet the team who support you! 

NRAS is pleased to invite people in Mid-Wales to an in-person event in Aberystwyth on the 22nd of October 2025. 

Members of the NRAS team, including Director of Innovation and Services Donagh Stenson, will be joined by Professor Karim Raza, Consultant Rheumatologist, Bronglais Hospital, Hywel Dda University Health Board, and Sarah O’Donovan, a rheumatology nurse specialist who works with Professor Raza. The event will consist of talks by Donagh and Karim about how NRAS can support people to self-manage their condition and about developments in rheumatology care.…

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NRAS Local Groups

NRAS local groups are a wonderful place to share knowledge, enjoy engaging events and find friendship with others who know what living with rheumatoid arthritis is like. By joining an NRAS local group, people can find support, enjoy activities and learn from expert speakers.

For more information on upcoming local events, visit the event page on nras.org.uk.

For more information on NRAS Local Groups and NRAS JoinTogether online groups, please visit the NRAS Connect with others page.

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.

Managing Persistent Pain e-learning resource

A new e-learning resource available to all healthcare professionals working across roles and sectors in Wales entitled “Managing Persistent Pain”. It has been by launched by Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW).

This package has been developed in collaboration by HEIW, primary care representatives and pharmacy colleagues together with the National Clinical Lead for Persistent Pain. The resource has been developed to encourage healthcare professionals to think more broadly about the management persistent pain rather than focusing on medication and interventions.…

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Welsh Government Consultation: Arthritis and MSK Framework

Welsh Government documentThe Welsh Government has opened a consultation on the draft guidance document, Living with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions: a framework for the future. 

The new framework is one of several tools that will guide service development and delivery for MSK conditions from 2024 to 2028.

The consultation is seeking views to shape the vision, mission and strategy for improving services for people with MSK conditions in Wales and is open for responses until 8th April 2024. 

Visit the consultation website for more information or to submit a response.

Welsh Government’s Quality Statement on MSK Health

Quality Statement for Musculoskeletal Health

The quality statement describes what good quality musculoskeletal health services should look like.

First published: 12 October 2023

Last updated: 12 October 2023

The Wales MSK Conference took place in Cardiff on World Arthritis Day, 12 October 2023. ARMA CEO Sue Brown presented alongside the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Frank Atherton and the Health Minister, Eluned Morganon.

The Minister and the CMO delivered speeches covering the scale of the challenge in terms of the number of people living with MSK in Wales – nearly a million – as well as the impact of the conditions on quality of life; both spoke about the importance of primary and secondary prevention regarding MSK.…

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Airing Pain #139 Living with Persistent Pain in Wales

Pain Concern is promoting the latest edition of their Airing Pain podcast: Airing Pain #139 Living With Persistent Pain in Wales.

It was recorded at the Living Well with Persistent Pain in Wales conference during Pain Awareness Month in September 2023. The topic of the conference was the launch of the refreshed persistent pain guidance first published in 2019.

We know that persistent and chronic pain conditions affect a significant proportion of our population. It’s estimated between 33% and 50% of the population suffer with some form of persistent pain.…

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