Fiona Bruce
MP seeks more support for Arthritis sufferers at meeting with Health Minister
Fiona Bruce MP
met with the Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State at the Department of Health, David Mowat, at the Minister’s invitation after her
speaking on the issue in the House of Commons, to consider the impacts of
arthritis and press for more Government action on this vital issue. Alongside Jim
Shannon MP and representatives from Arthritis UK, they discussed prompt
and decisive action which might be taken, so that people throughout the UK
might no longer be forced to suffer due to this crippling condition.
They
talked over a range of issues, three key points of which were:
1 - There should be an acceptance throughout the NHS
that Arthritis is a long term condition and monitored on a regular basis as
with other similar conditions
2 - NICE Guidelines on Osteoarthritis, which set out
model questions for GPs, to ask, should be applied nationally and not just in
certain postcode areas.
3 - The number of Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy
sessions recommended by a GP for an OA patient should be expanded from just 1
or 2 to as many as 6
Fiona Bruce MP said
“Talking to constituents and hearing
their stories has really given me an insight into the terrible pain, isolation and fatigue
suffered by millions of people throughout the UK on a daily basis, caused by
this dreadful disease”.
In fact, around
one in seven people in the UK live with arthritis, and three in four people
with arthritis and joint pain, according to a survey carried out for Arthritis
Research UK, say pain stops them living life to the full.
Fiona
continued
“Arthritis has for too long found itself
at the bottom of the heap, as far as acknowledgement of medical conditions are
concerned, with treatment and care too often inadequate or inconsistent. I hope
that this meeting with the Department of Health might be a positive step on a
long, but significant, journey towards ensuring those with arthritis are given
the help they need”.
The meeting follows a Parliamentary debate on the 20th
October, which for the first time in five years sought to examine the impacts
of arthritis. The debate received a great amount of cross party support, with
numerous MPs bringing the issue to the fore. In this debate, Fiona powerfully
told the story of a constituent, Christine Walker, a long-time sufferer of arthritis and supporter of the charity
Arthritis UK, emphasising the need for the Government to take action on the
issue.
In response to hearing of Fiona’s meeting with the Minister,
Christine said
“I hope
that by exposing people to the terrible impacts of arthritis, they may start to
listen up and view arthritis as the serious condition it is, which must be
tackled. The Parliamentary debate was vital in this, and I am so pleased to
hear that Fiona and other MPs have met with a Minister. I look forward to hearing
about positive and decisive action which might result.”
