Arthritis Care In Wales

The authority would like to / has responded by postal mail to this request.

Dear Sir or Madam

Arthritis Care is the UK’s leading user-led organisation benefiting people with arthritis. Arthritis Care in Wales is the Wales component of the UK wide charity. We are a user led organisation, working with and for people in Wales who have arthritis: Arthritis Care is an active member of the Long Term Conditions Alliance Cymru and is working actively to support the implementation of the Chronic Conditions Framework.
Arthritis Care in Wales was a key stake holder in the, ‘Designed for people with chronic conditions Service and Development Directives Arthritis and Chronic Musculoskeletal Conditions (Directives). We are keen to see our services improve as a result of these Directives.
With this aim we are gathering information on the progress of the Directives and making a Freedom of Information Request as allowed for under the auspices of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
I understand from the Act that Bridgend Local health Board will have 21 working days from the receipt of this request to respond. I hope to receive your response by the 16th of 17th of August 2008, however if you have any questions about Arthritis Care in Wales please do not hesitate to contact me,

Yours Faithfully,

Helen Miller
Policy manager Arthritis Care
LLB, BVC, Barrister of Gray’s Inn
E mail – [email address]
Mobile:07779340676

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST;

‘Designed for people with chronic conditions Service and Development Directives Arthritis and chronic Musculoskeletal Conditions (Directives).

1. Is Bridgend LHB aware of the Document, ‘Designed for people with chronic conditions Service and Development Directives Arthritis and Chronic Musculoskeletal Conditions (Directives)?

2. Has Bridgend LHB appointed a member of staff to oversee the implementation of the action points (1 to 23) as contained in the Directives?

3. If there has been an appointment to support the Directives, what is their title?

4. Has Bridgend LHB received any extra funding to implement the Directives?

5. Has Bridgend LHB requested any extra funding to implement the Directives? If the answer is ‘yes’ to this question how much funding has been given? Where has the funding come from?

6. Has Bridgend LHB reviewed, planned or participated in any exercise to discover the pecuniary implication in the implementation of the Directives?

7. If Bridgend LHB has engaged in such an exercise what is the estimated financial implication of the implementation of the Directives?

8. Has Bridgend LHB implemented an audit to review on, ‘services and population needs, including those of disadvantaged groups, to inform local commissioning and service plans for people with arthritis and chronic musculoskeletal conditions?’

9. If Bridgend LHB has implemented the key action listed in qu., 8 when did this occur?

10. If Bridgend LHB implemented the key action as listed in qu., 8 has the report been published?

11. Can you provide a copy of the report referred to in qu., 10?

12. Has Bridgend LHB established a, ‘joint service advisory group involving all stake holders, providers and users of services to strengthen the planning and commission of integrated services for chronic musculoskeletal conditions’?

13. If Bridgend LHB has implemented the ‘advisory group’ as referred to in qu., 12, how many times has the group met? What are the dates of these meetings?

14. If Bridgend LHB has implemented the ‘advisory group’ as referred to in point qu., 12, where can the public access these minutes?

15. Can you provide a copy of these minutes as referred to in qu., 14?

16. If Bridgend LHB has implemented the ‘advisory group’ as referred to in qu., 12, what is the membership of the group?

17. If Bridgend LHB has implemented the ‘advisory group’ as referred to in qu., 12, does the group have terms of reference? If the answer is ‘yes’, please can you state how we can obtain a copy?

18. Is Bridgend LHB working in, ‘partnership with the National Public Health Service for Wales … [and ensuring] that evidence- based primary and secondary prevention measures addressing local needs are integral to services and care pathways for people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions’?

19. If the answer to qu., 18 is ‘yes’, how has NPHS and Bridgend LHB been working together to achieve the target as stated in qu., 18 and who is responsible for this in Bridgend LHB ?

20. If the answer to qu., 18 is ‘yes’, what tangible evidence has been used in the process and how has it been used?

21. How has Bridgend LHB supported opportunistic screening of low density for those at high risk of fractures and other musculoskeletal complications?

22. Does Bridgend LHB have any statistical or other evidence to support the answer to question 1.1.20?

23. Has Bridgend LHB, ‘in partnership with other relevant organisations ensured appropriate information, support and interventions are accessible to the general public and people with established musculoskeletal conditions’?

24. If the answer to question 23 is ‘yes’, who has Bridgend LHB been working in partnership with? And how has Bridgend LHB been working in partnership? If there have been meetings when have they been held and with whom?

25. ‘What programmes to prevent falls have been developed and implemented? When were these programmes developed? When were these programmes implemented?

26. Which voluntary sector organisations has Bridgend LHB been working in partnership with to ensure that, ‘participation in exercise is encouraged and supported particularly for disadvantaged communities in line with the objectives of Health Challenge Wales and the Climbing Higher Strategy for Sport and Physical Activity’?

27. How has Bridgend LHB ensured that, ‘arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions are assessed and diagnosed in the community and that timely access to appropriate health and social care professionals is achieved through specialist integrated multidisciplinary teams’?

28. Do the ‘LHB commissioning agreements include referral protocols between primary, secondary and tertiary services for people with arthritis and muscular conditions’?

29. If the answer is ‘yes’ to question 28, where can we obtain a copy?

30. Has Bridgend LHB ensured that all GP surgeries ‘have signposting information available regarding support services, networks and further sources of information’?

31. If the answer is ‘yes’ to question 31 can you please provide a list.

32. Has Bridgend LHB ensured that other health care settings (rheumatology clinics etc) ‘involved in the assessment and diagnosis of arthritis and chronic musculoskeletal conditions have signposting information available regarding support services, networks and further sources of information’?

33. The Directives state at page 28, key action 16, and ‘Care pathways for arthritis and chronic musculoskeletal conditions will be developed by commissioners in partnership with health professionals and with support from users of services’. Can Bridgend LHB state how these pathways have been developed and the user groups that have been consulted to develop the partnership working?

34. How has Bridgend LHB, ‘ensured that local, user- led self help groups and support mechanisms for people with arthritis and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, and their families and carers are integral to services’?

35. In light of the response to question 34 can Bridgend LHB please list which user – led self help groups have been used to be integral in the services as stated in key action 19 of the Directives?

36. What plans have been developed by Bridgend LHB, ‘for self – management programmes for people living with arthritis and chronic musculoskeletal conditions’?

37. Giving consideration to Key Action 22, in the Directives, what partnerships have been developed and with which voluntary organisations?

38. Can Bridgend LHB demonstrate how they their commissioners of local musculoskeletal services have engaged with service users to ‘assist in the design, development, monitoring and evaluation of services’?

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Tillbrook left an annotation ()

'Arthritis Care was not in a position to have posted the comment that it did on this website in response to the series of questions posed and, on behalf of the charity, I apologise for the error here and also to the fact that the questions raised would appear not to have been addressed, not least in a timely fashion.

This is not the case. Along with all 22 former Local Health Boards within Wales, Bridgend Local Health Board have responded in full, within the agreed times scale, to this Freedom of Information request from Arthritis Care Wales to the Bridgend LHB. The information on this website suggesting that a response from Bridgend Local Health Board to Arthritis Care is long overdue is therefore inaccurate. It is not the intention of Bridgend LHB to share the response via this website.'

Andrew Tillbrook
Company Secretary
Arthritis Care