25 April 2023
The dominant narrative around the NHS in recent years has focussed on the crisis in recruitment and retention of staff and the terrible toll staff shortages are having on people in desperate need of healthcare. But a new short film, released by us as a part of The People We Need campaign, is seeking to change the conversation.
“With this project we really wanted to flip the current narrative on NHS workforce shortages on its head and tell the powerful story of freedom for people with rheumatic and Musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases when they get the standard of healthcare they need and deserve. We want this project to be an important signpost toward the enormous transformative potential investing in the Rheumatology workforce could unleash.”
said Jack Buck, our Head of External Affairs.
Inspired by the real-life stories of patient supporters of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS), Living Free follows three sets of characters living with rheumatic conditions as they pursue everyday activities made possible by the specialist care given by our clinical members. It seeks to capture the simple and life affirming joy that comes from living free from the burden of disease.
Buck says:
“When talking to patients living with rheumatoid arthritis it’s clear that the value of their healthcare came in the everyday freedoms it granted them, enjoying long walks, playing with their children, pursuing a career or hobbies such knitting or dancing. Even pursuing and maintaining romantic relationships, which can be difficult for some who live with chronic pain or discomfort because of their condition.
We really wanted to capture these everyday freedoms to highlight the quality of life that is possible for those living with rheumatic conditions, if only there were enough doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to look after them.
Our new manifesto for service delivery The People We Need: Our Plan to grow the Rheumatology workforce and deliver excellent care sets out the vacancies which exist in the rheumatology workforce, with hundreds of additional consultant doctors, nurse specialists and allied health professionals needed to ensure that care for patients meets the nationally approved NICE guidelines.
Our members take huge pride in the care they provide for the 17m people in the UK living with rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions,” says Buck. “But we know that to provide that excellent quality of life and unlock the huge potential of those with rheumatic and MSK conditions we need to grow the Rheumatology workforce in the years to come. That’s why our new campaign The People We Need is targeting political stakeholders ahead of the expected 2024 general election and is setting out an evidenced and costed plan to grow the Rheumatology workforce and enable excellent care.”
To help do this we have brought together organisations across the rheumatology and musculoskeletal sector to campaign on a joint pledge targeted at MPs, political parties and parliamentary candidates ahead of the next general election. These organisations include the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS), the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) and the Primary Care Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Medicine Society (PCRMMS).
You can join the campaign by: