The CSP has backed calls for greater support for those waiting for joint replacement surgery.
Today charity Versus Arthritis launched a campaign asking for a package of support to improve the experiences of people with arthritis who are waiting for surgery, supported by CSP.
The Impossible To Ignore campaign asks for people to have the right support to manage pain, distress, physical health, wellbeing and finances, as well as clear communication on surgery appointment times and what pre-operative care and services they need.
It comes in response to findings from Versus Arthritis that shows 79 per cent of people waiting for surgery said their physical health had worsened, while 90 per cent reported reduced mobility – both of which could be helped with high-quality pre-operative rehabilitation.
The CSP echoed the campaign’s urgency, with five million people currently on waiting lists, and modelling suggesting this picture will be worse than 1997 levels within three years.
In a statement, the CSP said: 'We greatly welcome this support package from Versus Arthritis; it comes at a crucial time when waiting lists for surgery are higher than ever before, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in pain both physically and mentally.
It is vital that it is fully integrated into our healthy system so that patient care is joined up and people on waiting lists receive personalised support to help them to manage their symptoms.
'This, along with activity programmes to ensure people are in the best physical condition before surgery, will not only have a positive impact on the patient but on our health system as a whole.'
The Versus Arthritis campaign is urging people to write to their MPs to demand change.
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