Current policy statements
If you have any other lobbying or campaigning issues to bring to BSR’s attention please contact Katy Lewis at klewis@rheumatology.org.uk.
Take action now!
Very soon it will be time to
contact your local parliamentary candidates. Following the recent
debate in the House of Commons on the care of those with
musculoskeletal disorders, the optimal time to make contact with your
local politicians is fast approaching. We need to ensure that all
potential MPs are aware of the national issues in relation to these
disorders and we must work together to make this happen. You will
probably know, in due course, who is seeking election in your area. If
you need help in identifying who they are and how to contact them,
please get in touch with Debbie Smith or Katy Lewis at BSR HQ who will
be happy to help you. They can be contacted on
dsmith@rheumatology.org.uk or
klewis@rheumatology.org.uk.
Do not hesitate or procrastinate - get in touch with them!
I
am delighted, as I know we all are, that the House of Commons recently
debated services for people with musculoskeletal conditions. The debate
was initiated by Paul Rowen MP (Lib Dem:Rochdale) and participants
included Graham Stringer (Lab:Manchester, Blackley) who had received a
briefing from the BSR. Health Minister Ann Keen responded on behalf of
the Government.
The debate highlighted a number of our key concerns including:
- The importance of patients having access to drugs – particularly to anti-TNFs
- The key to successful treatment is early diagnosis and early access to drugs
- That no extra funding is being sought, simply a better co-ordinated and better use of existing monies
- 28 million working days a year are lost due to musculoskeletal conditions
- That
there is no National Clinical Director for musculoskeletal diseases,
yet there are 9 to 10 million people suffering from MSK diseases
Anne
Milton MP (Con: Guildford) noted that “some 20 to 25 per cent of our
constituents suffer from musculoskeletal problems and account for one
in four visits to GPs” .
We
must seize this opportunity to help parliamentary candidates know the
size and nature of the national problem with musculoskeletal diseases.
BSR
is creating a check list of things you could raise with your local
candidates. The emphasis is on your local situation, as this what they
are interested in the run up to the General Election. The checklist
will be available on the BSR website from next week.
Deborah Bax, President
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 Metrics
Quality Metrics are a means of measuring the quality and performance of services to patients using a range of indicators and measures.
Although we believe most rheumatological out patient practice does not fit into this scheme, from a general perspective, there are some important points we would like to raise:
We support standards such as those in the cancer section on Peer Review, National Audits and their analysis, and the use of specialist nurses.
We support the promotion of standards for our inpatients in relation to assessment and treatment of serious disease.
We are disappointed that none of the long term indicators are specifically relevant to rheumatology.
We agree that there should be patient experience and patient environment indicators. However, we feel there are far too many, which could have a negative effect on discharge policies if all patients had to complete these.
We support the development of Patient Related Outcome Measures (PROMS). We support timeliness of care indicators particularly in relation to Referral to Treatment (RTT).
Free prescriptions
Prescription charges for those with long term conditions are currently being reviewed. We believe that patients should be exempt from prescription charges for Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDS) and biologic agents.
Serious forms of arthritis typically affect an age group not covered by existing exemptions. These individuals are dependent on regular and often multiple medications to control the diseases and their frequent co-morbidities.
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