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Musculoskeletal Conditions

Good morning, Mr. Streeter. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time. I thank the Speaker for granting me the opportunity of this Adjournment debate. I declare a non-pecuniary interest as a trustee of the Arthritis Research Campaign, one of the largest medical research charities in the country, which is soon to be renamed Arthritis Research UK, which indicates the sort of work that it does. As a major research charity, ARC has pioneered much of the research into arthritis and many of the developments in its treatment, including anti-TNF drugs—tumour necrosis factor blockers—and has supported the medical research community in the UK. The UK is a world leader in research into musculoskeletal conditions which, unlike cancer and heart conditions, are not immediately life-threatening for most people. Sufferers are not traditionally the most vociferous in shouting about the shortfalls in care and their needs, but I hope that that is about to change with the advent of Arthritis Research UK, which has set 10 ambitious goals. They include ensuring that people with arthritis remain active; reducing the economic impact on patients, their families and the wider economy; reducing the number of deaths and severe complications of arthritis in all its forms; and reducing pain and disability in childhood arthritis, leading to a normal future. I acknowledge the help and support of ARMA, the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, of which ARC is a member, and particularly for the work of Ross Meek and Tony Redmond and their support and advice when preparing this debate. ARMA's report, "Joint Working? An audit of the Department of Health's musculoskeletal services framework", provided a major impetus for this debate, along with Dame Carol Black's 2008 review of the health of Britain's working-age population, "Working for a healthier tomorrow", the National Audit Office report "Services for people with rheumatoid arthritis", as well as my early-day motion 1930, which was tabled on 20 July 2009. "Musculoskeletal conditions" is a broad term encompassing more than 200 problems affecting the muscles, joints and skeleton. They include sprains and strains, pelvic fractures, low back pain, repetitive strain injury, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia and Marfan syndrome. Such conditions affect more than 10 million people, or one in four of the adult population, and last year the NHS spent more than £4.2 billion—more than £11 million a day—on their treatment, which is the fifth highest programme budget of all NHS gross expenditure.