Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2017 to Question 62116, on arthritis, what steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of patients offered education and self-management services within one month of being diagnosed with arthritis.

Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning services that offer education and self-management for patients diagnosed with arthritis. Currently, there is no consistent national data to identify the proportion of patients offered education and self-management within a month of being diagnosed.

There has been significant progress in identifying the evidence base for new care models and optimal pathway solutions that offer better care and treatment for people diagnosed with arthritis. These include better access to first contact musculoskeletal physio practitioners and delivery of community based self-management rehabilitation programmes such as Escape Pain, StartBack or Pathway through Pain Programmes.

The Five Year Forward View has made a specific commitment to do more to support people with long-term conditions and to help them manage their own health. Self-management increases the likelihood of better clinical outcomes, lower rates of hospitalisation and less need for emergency care.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published a best practice clinical guideline and corresponding Quality Standard for both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis, both of which highlight the importance of self-management approaches and lifestyle advice in supporting patients to manage their condition. For RA this is outlined in a Quality Standard. Links are provided below:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs33/resources/rheumatoid-arthritis-in-over-16s-2098604563909

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg177