How arthritis patients can take back control

The Pennine MSK (musculo skeletal) partnership team.

A NEW project is giving people with severe rheumatoid arthritis more freedom.

They found out more about the service which allows them to carry out their own injections like diabetics to control the painful and debilitating condition.

This means that they will no longer have to visit hospital once a week for the treatment — affecting everything from work to holidays.

Methotrexate pills are commonly taken for rheumatoid arthritis, but severe cases need higher doses which can cause worse side-effects.

These can be lessened if the drug is injected, but this currently has to be done by a nurse.

The new service is offered by Pennine MSK (musculo skeletal) partnership which offers specialist rheumatology, orthopaedic and chronic pain relief services in Oldham.

An advice session on how patients can inject themselves was held at the Link Centre, Union Street.

They will then receive one-to-one sessions before being assessed at home.

Currently 35 people in Oldham receive the injections at hospital, but rheumatology nurse Sarah Critchley explained that many more simply refuse the treatment.

She said: “The main benefit for the patients is it gives them more control over the disease.

“At the moment they are tied to going up to hospital once a week at a time which suits the hospital, which doesn’t necessarily suit the patient.

“A lot of patients have refused the treatment because of the impact it has on their lives.

Minefield

“They can’t get up there during the working week or if you have a family you can’t take children on to the ward.

“If a patient is going on holiday they have to miss their treatment or arrange for the drugs to be given by another provider — which is a minefield to do even in this country.

“The actual injection takes minutes.

“But by the time patients have left their house, driven to the hospital, parked and waited for the injection, it is a two-and-a-half hour trip for a two-and-a-half minute job.”