§ Mr. Ivan HendersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to help sufferers of arthritis. [80890]
§ Jacqui SmithThe national service framework for older people does not specifically focus on arthritis but through improvements in general hospital care, and especially through the new single assessment process, older people's health care needs will be properly targeted, so ensuring that the services that are provided are most appropriate to their needs.
People with arthritis will benefit from the expert patients programme, which will see the national health service provide training in self-management skills for people with long-term chronic conditions. The first pilot phase has begun in selected primary care trust sites, with activity to take place both on a generic and a disease-specific basis.
The Medical Research Council, which is the main Government research agency, funded major research projects into arthritis. Also, in the past year, two new classes of drugs, Cox II inhibitors and anti-TNF therapy, have been made available to arthritis patients, following reviews by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). In addition, NICE is reviewing the drug Anakinra for its clinical and cost effectiveness in treating rheumatoid arthritis.