Dear First Minister,
Don't turn your back on arthritis.
On behalf of the 1.7 million Scots living with a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition like arthritis, we urge you to commit to the first-ever MSK Action Plan for Scotland.
One in three people in Scotland live with the daily pain, fatigue and disability that arthritis can cause. Too many are waiting years for diagnosis, struggling to get the right care and support, and slowly but devastatingly losing independence. Too many pushed out of school and work, into poverty, and close to breaking point.
But time and again, successive SNP governments have turned their backs on us. Arthritis is one of the only major conditions without a strategy in Scotland. And in 27 years of our parliament, there has never been a dedicated debate on it. This silence speaks volumes.
1.7 million adults, young people and children have been forgotten.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Your government must be the one to face arthritis head on.
The SNP’s manifesto commitment to a new Long Term Conditions Framework is one we welcomed and have been proud to help shape. When the government consulted on the framework, hundreds of people with arthritis shared their experiences.
Our message was clear: people with arthritis in Scotland deserve a better deal. Not just to survive, but to flourish. Far too many of us aren’t getting the information, care and support we need.
That’s why we urgently need an MSK Action Plan to come out of the framework.
You recently promised to be a government that delivers. And your investment in tackling orthopaedic waiting times has returned real results. Now we need the same for all aspects of MSK care.
We’re calling on you to make this happen. To face the facts and commit to an MSK Action Plan that will:
1. Help people get the right diagnosis and support sooner for common conditions like back pain, neck pain and osteoarthritis, reducing pain and improving quality of life
2. Help more people stay active for longer by making movement and physical activity central to improving MSK health, supporting people at home and in the community.
3. Make sure everyone with osteoarthritis can live well by improving essential support like education and weight management – whether they need surgery or not.
4. Help people maintain their independence and take control of their condition through better rehabilitation and supported self-management
5. Drive system-wide improvements through strong leadership across the NHS and government, making sure MSK health gets the focus and investment it deserves.
6. Deliver better care and fairer outcomes by improving how MSK data is collected and used, to better understand and respond to the needs of local communities across Scotland.
We all have the right to the highest attainable standard of health. And you can make this happen for a community too often forgotten.
You have the power to face this crisis head on and create lasting change for the 1.7 million people with MSK conditions in Scotland. And above all, to pave the way for a future free from the limits of arthritis.
Together, we can make this future a reality.
Yours sincerely,
Amy, Bobby, Ken and Mairi (people living with arthritis)
