Putting patients first: Joined-up care
for people with arthritis
In a unique collaboration, Arthritis Care has joined the Department of
Health in producing a patient’s guide to the new Musculoskeletal
Services Framework for England, which was launched today. (Royal College
of Surgeons, Tues 31 October)
Arthritis Care welcomes the services makeover which aims to improve the
assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of people with arthritis and other
musculoskeletal conditions, addressing their health and social care
needs more holistically, and bringing services closer to home.
If fully and successfully implemented, the framework will re-shape
frontline services for a generation, having a real impact on the care of
a child newly-diagnosed with arthritis, or of an older person with
osteoporosis being supported in self-management.
"We’ll be monitoring it closely, of course, but if implemented
effectively, this framework could provide better, quicker and more
continuous care for people of all ages with arthritis, improve their
experience of the NHS, and their quality of life’ said Arthritis Care
chief executive, Neil Betteridge who joined health minister Andy Burnham
MP at today’s (Tues 31st ) launch.
At the heart of the new framework is a triage system designed to
identify those people whose needs could be answered by local services,
and those requiring a hospital referral.
‘It’s a one-stop shop - for assessment, diagnosis, treatment or
referral to other specialists. We’re promised it will be local and
multidisciplinary, so people will see a range of appropriate clinicians,
and should receive continuity of care and prompt attention. That’s
vital where swift intervention can prevent fresh joint damage’, said
Mr Betteridge.
In planning the new framework, the Department of Health consulted user
and support organisations like Arthritis Care to try to ensure that the
changes are patient-centred and patient–led, truly reflecting
people’s needs.
‘Arthritis Care represents some 70,000 people living with arthritis,
so we see the patient’s view and hear the patient’s voice. Arthritis
Care ran three focus groups for the Department of Health, involving
people with all kinds of musculoskeletal conditions. They identified
obstacles between them and those services they felt suited them best’,
said Kate Llewelyn, Arthritis Care’s head of information services.
‘For starters, people wanted direct access to the right health
professional at a suitable time – why must you go through your GP just
to get a new referral to a physiotherapist, when one quick visit to the
physiotherapist might hit the spot?’, said Ms Llewelyn, ‘Access to
the right care, from the right person, at the right time – the time
that benefits the patient most – is now at the core of the
framework.’
To raise awareness of the revamp, and to assist patients in navigating
their way round new services, Arthritis Care was asked by the Department
of Health
to develop and co-produce a jargon-busting guide to the framework,
Information for People with Bone and Joint Problems: Getting the most
from your local health service.
‘Musculoskeletal Services Framework may be a bit of a mouthful, but
the guide should ensure people don’t get lost in a musculoskeletal
maze. It’s free of technical lingo, signposts the changes in services
and delivery, and charts how GP practices, physiotherapy, occupational
therapy, hospitals and other community services will team up to offer
the best for the patient’, said Ms Llewelyn, who developed
the joint Arthritis Care/Department of Health booklet.
‘What’s more, the guide gives people a snapshot of what they’re
entitled to expect from the framework - and if they don’t see the
promised changes within their own areas, the booklet will help them to
lobby their local PCT to start implementing them’, said Ms Llewelyn.
‘Arthritis Care will work alongside health professionals and people
with arthritis to ensure that the framework delivers the promised
services, when, where and how they are needed. We will continue to
promote the framework - but we’ll also audit its implementation, and
press the Department of Health to fulfil its duties’, said
Neil Betteridge.
Notes
(1)
Patient Guide:
www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/MusculoskeletalFrameworkbooklet
(2) To support effective implementation, Arthritis Care is
calling for:
Local and national decision makers to prioritise the Musculoskeletal
Services Framework, and promote its services to people with arthritis
The Department of Health to attach clear goals and targets to the
Framework, including, but not limited to, its 18 week target
People with arthritis to participate in planning and evaluation of local
musculoskeletal services
All providers outlined in the Framework to offer good quality
information to support patient choice.
The Department of Health and local health economies to ringfence funds
for implementation of the framework
The Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Department of Health to
introduce strategic frameworks to ensure that all people with arthritis
in the UK have access to improved services
(3)
Arthritis is the UK’s biggest single cause of physical disability,
affecting around nine million people, including 12,000 children.
Established in 1947, Arthritis Care is the UK’s largest voluntary
organisation committed to supporting people with arthritis.
It works to represent their interests and to lobby decision-makers on
their behalf. It has over 300 branches UK-wide, an information helpline,
four holiday hotels, produces a range of information booklets plus the
award-winning Arthritis News, and actively campaigns both locally and
nationally for people with arthritis.
(5) Arthritis Care operates a free and confidential helpline: 0808 800
4050, open 10am-4pm weekdays and there are free, downloadable resources
on the Arthritis Care website: www.arthritiscare.org.uk
(31/10/06)
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