We are delighted that a multi-disciplinary team at our Trust has been selected to be part of a national programme designed to encourage and recognise quality improvement in axial spondyloarthritis (axial SpA) care.

The Aspiring to Excellence Programme, run by the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS), is a quality improvement initiative. It unites hospital teams across the UK to create a network of knowledge, with the aim to improve treatment and care for patients with axial SpA.

Axial SpA is an inflammatory disease of the spine and joints that causes extreme pain. If left untreated, it can permanently fuse bones. One in 200 people in the UK live with axial SpA. It can lay undetected and takes an average of eight-and-a-half years to diagnose.

The team at our Trust that is involved in the programme includes staff in rheumatology, ophthalmology, radiology, gastroenterology, and dermatology, bringing together different disciplines all involved in providing care for axial SpA patients.

Kristi Hutton, a rheumatology physiotherapist specialist at our Trust, led our successful application.

She said: “I’m really pleased that our Trust was chosen to be a part of the Aspiring to Excellence programme. I feel really inspired by the enthusiasm shown by everyone involved to help improve care for patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis and I can’t wait to get started.”

Angela Haigh, specialities manager, added: “Being selected as part of this programme is exciting and also uplifting. It really makes me feel part of a wider community of people all working to provide change; and gives me a great sense of optimism about the ability of our team to make changes.”

The programme provides a new strategic platform from which professionals can explore and test approaches to reducing the delay to diagnosis and improving treatment and care for patients with axial SpA.

Selected through a competitive process, teams from hospitals across the UK work together in a national peer-learning network. They are supported by NASS and the NHS Transformation Unit to develop and embed stronger pathways of care.

Our Trust is one of five teams to join the second cohort of the Aspiring to Excellence programme.

Dr Dale Webb, CEO at NASS, said: “By securing their position on the Aspiring to Excellence programme, the team at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has proven they have the skills, experience and desire to share insights and learn from others to transform care for patients with axial SpA.

“These teams will work together to galvanize new processes and bring together departments to innovate care. This is an important step towards reducing diagnosis times for patients and we are proud of the team at BHRUT for embarking on this journey with their peers. Together, we will ensure patients with axial SpA receive a swift diagnosis so that they can live well with the condition.”

 

Pictured top (left to right): Kristi Hutton, Louise Daniels, and Si-thu Aung from our team.