Are too many people with arthritis having to wait for surgery?

Every year tens of thousands of people with osteoarthritis find joint replacement surgery offers them a new lease of life, enabling them to be more independent. But as the growing pressures on NHS resources hit the headlines again this winter, and stories of surgery rationing become increasingly common, are more and more people with arthritis having to wait too long for the treatment they need?Growing numbers of people are getting in touch to tell us about their operations being delayed or restricted. Sometimes this is due to lifestyle factors, such as their weight or whether they smoke, but it can also be because of winter pressures on the NHS.What you’re telling us is borne out by statistics; the latest figures (November 2017) on waiting times for Trauma and Orthopaedics, which includes joint replacement and other types of surgery, show only 86.5% of people received treatment within 18 weeks after referral, well below the 92% target. This suggests thousands of people each year aren’t getting the treatment they need when they need it.Each person waiting for joint replacement surgery is living with pain and stiffness that can restrict their ability to live life to the full, meaning any delay to treatment is frustrating and distressing. However, for people with severe osteoarthritis there's evidence that significant delays can lead to their surgery being less successful and to the need for more costly procedures, outcomes which are not only bad for people with arth...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news