Fiona Bruce MP calls for national strategy to deliver improved care for people with arthritic conditions
Local MP Fiona Bruce has joined the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) in calling for the introduction of a national strategy for such conditions.
The strategy would help implement key priorities in the Government’s NHS reforms such as greater engagement by clinicians in the care of those with arthritis and similar painful joiont conditions, better joined up working between medical and social services and in delivering improved treatment results.
Speaking in Parliament at the launch of the new report “Joint Delivery” by ARMA calling for these improvements, Fiona Bruce said:
“Arthritis and similar conditions – medically termed “musculoskeletal”- affect a huge number of people – 9.6 million in England alone – more than respiratory conditions, diabetes and infectious diseases. Many people stoically soldier on in discomfort and daily pain, often for years, without asking for help.
A national, joined-up strategy, involving all medical advisors – right from the point when an individual first goes to their doctor’s surgery, would help improve access for appropriate help; from advice on diet and the right exercise to more sophisticated medical treatment.
A national strategy would also help address the variations in service provision in relation to musculoskeletal conditions which exist across the country something I am particularly concerned about for my constituency with the highest aging population (per head) of any area in the North West.”
