13 June 2023
We hosted a Parliamentary event in Portcullis House on Tuesday 13 June to build support for the People We Need Campaign. The event, hosted by Vicky Foxcroft MP, was attended by 12 MPs in total from the Labour, Conservative, and Scottish Nationalist party, members of the House of Lords, clinicians, and patients working and living with rheumatic conditions.
Our CEO Sarah Campbell said about the event:
“Today’s Parliamentary event was a fantastic opportunity for our members and patients living with rheumatic and MSK conditions to talk to policymakers about the vital importance of growing the rheumatology workforce. With our new health economic research BSR can now evidence the impact that’s possible, with our modelling showing patients achieving measurable improvements in their quality of life and there being a reduction in the societal costs of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). That message was heard loud and clear today in the Houses and Parliament and it’s great to see our campaign building momentum.”
Our People We Need campaign is calling for policymakers and political parties to support the growth of the rheumatology workforce over the course of the next Parliament, in line with the recommendations in BSR’s manifesto for service delivery.
Those recommendations include;
- 159 additional adult rheumatology consultant posts;
- 264 additional specialist nurse posts in adult rheumatology services;
- 12 additional paediatric rheumatology consultant posts; and to
- Removing barriers to the development of extended roles for allied health professionals, pharmacists, and specialist nurses to address capacity issues across specialist services.
The campaign was launched after a 2021 report by BSR found that the rheumatology workforce in the United Kingdom is in crisis, with the levels of vacancies meaning services are failing to be believed in line with NICE guidance.
Sarah Campbell continued, “We know shortages in rheumatology staff are putting a huge strain on services across the country. With this campaign we’re showing the enormous positive impact filling those vacancies could have, both for patients and services, and with a general election on the horizon we believe now is the time for policymakers to get behind rheumatology and support the 17m people in the UK living with rheumatic and MSK diseases.”
To support our campaign, write to your MP and ask them to take the pledge
You can read more about BSR’s People We Need campaign here.
You can also read more about BSR’s new health economics research here.