Over the past 3 months, Arthritis NZ has had meetings with MPs on the Health Select Committee and other government MPs, and has run a few Spot Polls with consumers.

The meeting discussions have been mainly about Osteoarthritis (OA), and how to improve the management of Gout. We hope to have another opportunity to meet with the Health Select Committee and are now also requesting meetings with MPs from opposition parties.

The Spot Polls help us gauge consumer knowledge and opinion on current issues. These polls have now closed and we have been analysing the results so the findings can be shared. Read further below to see what we found in the Enabling Good Lives poll.

Advocacy discussions

Osteoarthritis management

Waiting lists for people needing orthopaedic surgery have seen the active development of an Orthopaedic Musculoskeletal Hospital Pathway to assist with the management of OA. It seeks to provide different pathways for managing OA so patients may, for example, be referred to a physiotherapist. The pilot for this pathway has been very encouraging with patients expressing high levels of satisfaction and some finding they do not require surgery. An important role for us is to advocate on behalf of consumers, and we would welcome any feedback you have on accessing services to help you manage your OA more effectively. 

Gout management

We are leading discussions with health professionals on how we can make gout management more accessible for consumers. This work is currently focussing on medication needed for the management of gout arthritis and we are working closely with GPs, rheumatologists, pharmacists and community groups to achieve this. 

Other advocacy activity

Last month we also attended meetings discussing Pharmac and their processes to approve funding of medications. We are working collaboratively with other agencies such as Rare Disorders New Zealand, Stroke Foundation. Aged Concern and Patient Voice Aotearoa.

Spot polls 

Enabling Good Lives

EGL is a programme for people with disabilities. We were interested to see if this programme was being accessed by people with arthritis so we posted a survey on our social media channels. Find out more about Enabling Good Lives here.

If you are interested in exploring if Enabling Good Lives may be beneficial for you for you, please call Arthritis Assist 0800 663 463.

This is what we found:

Read more about the advocacy work we do:

Advocacy – Arthritis New Zealand