Many people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not being diagnosed or treated sufficiently quickly, and some services are inadequately coordinated, according to a report published recently by the National Audit Office (NAO). Delay in treatment is detrimental to a patient’s health, their quality of life and the economy.
Rheumatoid arthritis costs the NHS an estimated £560 million annually. The NAO estimates that approximately 580,000 adults in England currently have the disease, with a further 26,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Better coordinated services would lead to earlier identification of new cases, productivity gains for the economy, and improved outcomes for patients.
Early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment but public awareness of the disease is low. Between half and three-quarters of people with RA delay seeking medical help from their GP for three months or more following the onset of symptoms, and around a fifth delay for a year or more.
Amyas Morse, NAO head, said: "Patients with this debilitating and distressing disease are not identified or treated quickly enough and this dramatically affects long-term outcomes and people's ability to remain in work. The NHS should take a more coordinated approach to identifying people with symptoms of early RA so that they get access to specialist care quickly and receive support and advice to help them manage and live with the disease. "
www.nao.org.uk