Arthritis: Diagnosis
(asked on 5th June 2019) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidance ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adults: management’, updated in 2018, sets out best practice on the diagnosis, treatment, care support of people living with the condition. The guidance emphasises the need for early diagnosis, with urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis. This is because treatment at an early stage can halt progression of disease.
The full guidance can be viewed at the following link: