Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people with arthritis are signposted to holistic support at the point of diagnosis.

We are supporting better care for patients with arthritis through the Getting It Right First Time Programme (GIRFT) for Rheumatology. The GIRFT rheumatology programme is supporting the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across England and closer to patients’ homes, and improve services nationally.

As part of the GIRFT MSK Community Delivery Programme, GIRFT teams are working with health system leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for patients with arthritis, and improve referral pathways to wider support services.

As part of a major transformation of the NHS under the 10-Year Health Plan, patients with MSK conditions, such as arthritis, will also soon be able to directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management, and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions, including arthritis, back pain, and joint pain, while enabling general practitioners (GPs) to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up GPs.

Diagnosis Connect, which was announced in July 2025, will ensure that patients are signposted to trusted charities and support organisations when they are diagnosed with a long-term condition, providing personalised advice, information, and guidance to help them manage their condition and feel more in control. This support is designed to complement, not replace, their usual NHS care. A national partnership has now been developed, with NHS England, the Richmond Group of Charities, which includes Arthritis UK, and wider voluntary, community, and social enterprise partners working together to bring this vision to life. This is being backed by a £10 million investment.

Initial testing will begin with one condition being diagnosed in primary care. This testing will provide an opportunity to demonstrate what is possible before expanding to other conditions. Following initial testing, other conditions will be added to the programme.