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 share understanding and co-ordinate support for people with arthritis across the NHS in England.

Local commissioners are best placed to understand the needs of their local populations and to deliver high-quality care for patients with arthritis, taking into account best practice guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and other relevant organisations.

On 3 April 2020, NICE published ‘Rheumatological autoimmune, inflammatory and metabolic bone disorders’, that sets out best practice for clinicians and commissioners on managing disorders, including arthritis, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, on 8 April 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement published a clinical guide for the management of rheumatology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, covering patients with arthritis. Finally, NHS England and NHS Improvement have also supported the development of a self-management resource, that provides a range of advice for patients, including those with arthritis, in managing their condition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both sets of guidance and the self-management resource can be found at the following links:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG167

www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/secondary-care/other-resources/specialty-guides/

www.csp.org.uk/conditions/managing-pain-home