People with arthritis 'forced' out of work due to lack of treatment
The charity, Arthritis UK, says people with arthritis are living with increasing levels of pain and mental health challenges due to long waiting lists
Millions of people with arthritis are not receiving timely diagnoses or adequate treatment and left to face avoidable pain and often unable to work, according to a report by the charity, Arthritis UK (formerly Versus Arthritis).
Arthritis affects one in six people in the UK.
The charity says people with arthritis are living with increasing levels of pain, fatigue, mental health challenges and financial strain.
One in four people with arthritis in Wales (41%) say the condition has severely or very severely impacted their life in the past year.
Almost seven in ten surveyed (69%) say they are living in pain most or all the time due to their arthritis.
The charity's survey concludes that people with arthritis face widespread challenges in accessing effective treatment and support, long delays to secure a diagnosis and lack of treatment options once a diagnosis is made.
More investment, improved services and better training for frontline healthcare professionals are being 'urgently' called for.
People in lower social grades, younger adults and those with autoimmune inflammatory conditions are also being disproportionately impacted by arthritis.
Tina Gough, from Ferryside, lives with osteoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis, and says the impact on her life has been considerable as she lives in constant pain.
“I’ve been waiting for a double shoulder replacement and surgery on my wrist for three years"
"For two years, I I have relied on my husband for basic aspects of life.
"He does everything for me, cutting up my food, even brushing my hair as I can’t lift my shoulders high enough.
"I know it's not just me on the waiting list, but people don’t see what happens when you close the front door and try and get on with life, despite being in constant pain.”
Mary Cowern, Head of Nation, Arthritis UK Cymru, said:
“Arthritis UK has called for improved training for frontline healthcare professionals to enable more timely diagnosis and to improve support for people with arthritis.
" It is also vitally important that long waiting times for vital services, for example orthopaedic surgery, are brought down as soon as possible.”
The Welsh Government says: “We continue to work with the NHS to improve care and access to services for people living with arthritis.”
By 2050, one billion people globally will have arthritis.
In the last two decades autoimmune variants of arthritis, which also affect children and younger adults, have shot up by 40% in the UK, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.