19 October 2026
More than 220 members from across the UK have shared their views on the future of rheumatology services through a recent British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) survey. The responses provide valuable insight into the opportunities and challenges facing the specialty over the coming decade. We received responses from all four nations of the UK, reflecting perspectives from across the multidisciplinary team and from adult, adolescent and paediatric rheumatology services.
Significant opportunities, but pressures remain
A clear message emerged from the survey: members see considerable opportunities for the future of rheumatology, but services are currently operating under significant workforce and implementation pressures.
Five headline themes were identified:
- Workforce shortages are constraining service capacity.
- Workload pressures are affecting wellbeing and retention.
- Challenges with collaboration across settings are transferring work back to specialist services.
- Medicines shortages and prescribing constraints are affecting both patient care and staff workload.
- Limited capacity is restricting participation in research, innovation and service improvement.
Respondents also identified practical ways forward. These included strengthening the multidisciplinary workforce, improving integration between services, protecting time for development and service improvement, investing in digital infrastructure and providing more consistent support for innovation. The findings also reinforce the importance of ensuring that future advances and new models of care, including those envisaged in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England, are supported by the workforce, infrastructure, and system capacity needed to implement them successfully.
What happens next?
These survey findings will underpin our ongoing programme of policy influencing activities through which we represent the views and experiences of BSR members to policy makers. The findings will also form a key part of a new programme of work on shaping a vision for the future of rheumatology. This will include focus groups, policy analysis, stakeholder engagement and publications. Further updates to follow.