A real impact

It is two months since I joined the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) as chief executive, and it feels like a really interesting time to be here. 

 

ARMA is the umbrella body for the musculoskeletal (MSK) community in the UK, with member organisations including patient groups, research charities and national professional bodies.

 

My background is in health and social care policy as well as alliance working, having been the vice-chair of the Care and Support Alliance in my previous role. ARMA is a great example of why alliance working is so important and so powerful. 

 

The NHS is looking to transform the way services are delivered – integration, moving care out of hospital and closer to home, greater involvement of patients and shared decision- making. None of this is possible if we work in professional silos, or with a divide between primary and secondary care, or health and social care. There is an enthusiasm in the MSK community to engage with delivering the Five Year Forward View. ARMA is ideally placed to help our members contribute to this agenda, and by working together and speaking with one voice, is also ideally placed to influence the direction of change. Our partnership working with NHS England will mean that the community can help Sustainability and Transformation Plans deliver quality care and better outcomes for patients with MSK disorders. 

 

I am delighted that the CSP is such an active member of ARMA. Good MSK care must include allied health professionals and physiotherapy has a lot to offer the changing agenda within the NHS. By engaging, through ARMA, with discussions on the future of MSK services, I believe that the CSP can make a real impact. 

 

ARMA doesn’t just cover England, and we have an all Wales ARMA network about to be launched. I look forward to supporting similar initiatives in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

 

Because it doesn’t matter where you are, together we are always stronger than we can be on our own.

 

 

See the website here for more information.