Current policy statements
If you have any lobbying or campaigning issues to bring to BSR’s attention please contact Katy Lewis or Rachel Evans.
NHS White Paper Equity in Excellence: Liberating the NHS
Consultation
We are currently collating a response on the NHS White Paper Equity in Excellence: Liberating the NHS, and would welcome your comments.
Please
view the white paper and accompanying consultation papers and send your comments to the relevant contact person listed next to the paper.
Deadline for all comments is
Friday 17 September 2010. (With exception of Commissioning for patients - deadline
6 September 2010.)
Rheumatology Futures report
The Rheumatology Futures Forum released its report on Perceptions of Patients and Professionals on Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Care. It clearly sets out the variability of care and the challenges that we face to ensure that services for people with rheumatoid arthritis are improved and that patients get appropriate and timely treatment.
The Rheumatology Futures Group is a consortium of the main patient, professional and pharmaceutical organisations including the BSR, BHPR and ARMA, involved in RA care.
View report: Perceptions of Patients and Professionals on RA care
View supporting evidence: Findings of patient focus groups and professional interviews
BSR statement on NAO report: Services for people with rheumatoid arthritis
BSR President, Dr Deborah Bax said:
“We welcome this report. It demonstrates the gap between the recommendations in the NICE Rheumatoid Arthritis Management Guidelines, and what is actually delivered in the NHS. Consequently, it sets a challenge to both Government and clinicians alike. For Government the message is that patients are missing out on vital treatments & services, and it is time to invest in inflammatory arthritis services. It demonstrates that if rheumatoid arthritis is not seen by specialists promptly and treated intensively, it will end up costing both individual patients and the country much more in the long run. Therefore, rheumatoid arthritis services must now have the highest priority. For clinicians the message is that we must ensure that we are providing the best quality care for our rheumatoid arthritis patients.
This is a great opportunity for the Government and the musculoskeletal community to work together for the benefit of rheumatoid arthritis patients.”
Click here to view the National Audit Office report: Services for people with rheumatoid arthritis
For further details contact:
Debbie Smith
dsmith@rheumatology.org.uk
020 7842 0900
Current campaigns
View an update on our current NICE activities
Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)
The quality and outcomes framework (QOF) is a programme of incentives offered annually to GP surgeries in the UK. Rewards are given for, among other things, how well they manage some of the most common chronic diseases, and how well they improve the health of the populations they serve.
A key intention of the QOF is to identify ways of reducing preventable morbidity and cost. The absence of any musculoskeletal conditions from the present QOF must be a major concern to government given the substantial impact these conditions have on disability and reduced quality of life.
For our past policy activities visit our
policy archive and our past
press releases