The Futures Project

This project is a very good example of how campaigning has helped all of those who suffer from RA.

A number of stakeholders have come together to look at the key issues and how they might be resolved. The stakeholders came from many sections of the RA community:

• Clinicians
• Other healthcare professionals from the multi-disciplinary team
• Patients
• NRAS
• Members of the Pharmaceutical Industry
• The Department of Health (DoH)
• NHS Managers
• The Kings Fund. What is the Kings Fund?

Through the groups activity the Kings Fund produced an audit across England of RA services, which involved hundreds of our members and this was published in 2009.

Please click here to download the Kings Fund Report.
Please click here to download the supporting evidence to the Kings Fund Report

On the back of this report the Futures Group started to work with the Department of Health (DoH) to produce the Inflammatory Arthritis (IA) Commissioning Pathway. This pathway is endorsed and promoted on the DoH’s website and it shows commissioners what they should purchase from their providers to ensure that they are buying a quality service for their RA population. Please click here to view the Elective Care Commissioning Pathway Inflammatory Arthritis (Joint Pain).

Alongside this activity the National Audit Office (NAO) Report in RA services was published in July 2009 which then led to the public accounts committee enquiry into RA services.
Please click here to download the NAO Report.

At NRAS we are also developing a patient pathway so that patients with IA which includes AS, Psoriatic, and RA can find a guide to help them obtain the support they need at every stage of their disease journey.

We are hoping to obtain further funding so that we can raise public awareness of the early signs and symptoms of IA and this is in collaboration with the Royal College of Practitioners. We are designing a poster that will be found in GP surgeries and other suitable locations. The poster will advertise the signs and symptoms to look out for so that people can go and seek advice from their doctor.

It is vital that we raise public awareness of IA disease, both the Kings Fund report and the NAO report identified that one of the major delays in people being referred early enough is that they themselves delayed going to their doctor because they do not understand that it could be a chronic condition.