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. In June 2016, people with AS were asked to vote in various categories for healthcare professionals, giving reasons for their choice. The winners, who will be receiving their awards at our event in the Houses of Parliament are:
Undercover Hero
Dr Karl Gaffney, Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital
Best care provided by a rheumatologist
Dr Raj Sengupta, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Bath
Best care provided by a physiotherapist
Claire Jeffries, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
Best NASS Branch physiotherapist
Clare Longton, Lancaster Royal Infirmary
Best NASS Branch Physiotherapy Team
NASS Harrow (London) physiotherapists
Best rheumatology nurse
Michelle Rutherford, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle
Highly commended rheumatology nurse
Kelly Hayes-Head, Airedale General Hospital, East Yorkshire
AS Clinic Award
The Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
You Changed My Life award
Dr John Hunter, Glasgow Gartnavel General Hospital
Best care provided by a GP
Dr Justine Horton, Grove Surgery, Ripley, Derbyshire
Excellence in AS Care Awards
Specialist AS Team at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Disease, Bath
Liz Van Rossen, Kent and Canterbury Hospital