“These figures expose a postcode lottery in access to musculoskeletal services,” said Professor David Marsh, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Royal National Orthopaedics Hospital. “The government has long recognised that the situation must improve but now they have to explain why people in some areas of the country have to put up with cut-price care.”
The standards of care people can expect to receive can vary widely even between adjacent primary care trusts (PCTs). Oldham PCT has an annual spend per person of £590, while in neighbouring Manchester the figure is only £3481. In London, Tower Hamlets PCT has an expenditure of £401 per person per year, while neighbouring City and Hackney PCT spends just £260 – meaning that access to quality care can be determined based simply on which side of the street people live.
The data reinforces the findings of an ARMA report which exposes further failings in the implementation of the government’s 2006 musculoskeletal services strategy and calls for the appointment of a National Clinical Director to oversee improvements for people at a national level. The report – supported by an initial grant from the British Society of Rheumatology, DePuy UK and Roche Products, who also supported the development and distribution of this press release – found that one-in-five (21%) PCTs do not offer clinical assessment and treatment services’ (CATS) for people with musculoskeletal conditions, denying them services deemed a ‘keystone’ of the strategy.
“Long-standing musculoskeletal conditions are a major cause of long-term disability, ill-health and ultimately the inability to work,” said Ros Meek, Director of ARMA. “It is truly appalling to find so many serious failings in the identification and management of these conditions across the country. We want to see real leadership from the Department of Health in rectifying this, starting with a new plan for better care. The people living with these conditions deserve not to be ignored.”
‘Musculoskeletal conditions’ is a term which encompasses around 200 different problems affecting the muscles, joints and skeleton. These conditions impose a huge burden on the country with NHS costs in 2006-7 totalling over £3.5 billion and 11.2 million working days lost per annum on average over the last three years.
The abbreviation for computed tomography, a scan that generates a series of cross-sectional x-ray images
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Tissue made up of cells that can contract to bring about movement.
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Relating to the skeleton and its attached muscles, cartilage, tendons and ligaments that gives structure to the body and enables movement
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