Plans for pioneering new Rheumatology Centre at Infirmary

Rochdale Infirmary

Plans to redesign Rheumatology Services at Rochdale Infirmary are being drawn up by health bosses.

Doctors and nurse specialists at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust plan to open a specialist multi-disciplinary centre for Rheumatology patients, offering intensive enhanced outpatient and day case facilities at the Infirmary.

The Pennine Rheumatology Centre (PRC) hopes to offer greater support for Rheumatology patients across Rochdale, Whitworth, Bacup, Oldham, Bury and North Manchester to manage their condition and ultimately improve the overall patient experience.

Rheumatology is the branch of medicine which deals with diseases of the joints and muscles. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) affects about 60,000 people in the UK, most of working age. It is a major cause of disability and can also reduce life expectancy by five to ten years.

Fortunately with advances in treatment, this is now changing. Twenty years ago, people with Rheumatoid Arthritis often spent long periods in hospital. Today, although Rheumatoid Arthritis cannot be cured, the treatments are dramatically more effective and can do a great deal to limit damage to the joints and other organs, enabling people to get back to work and lead normal lives.

The effective treatments for Rheumatology conditions are not just drugs – they require a multidisciplinary team (MDT) of Rheumatologists, specialist nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and podiatrists working together to achieve the best results and outcomes for patients.

Dr Neil Snowden, Lead Consultant Rheumatologist at The Pennine Acute Trust said: “To deliver the best results with modern treatment, we need to see people regularly to get the arthritis under control and start intensive treatments in the shortest possible time. We need to be rapidly responsive when arthritis flares up and switch treatments quickly when things are not going well.

“Arthritis affects every aspect of people’s lives, so we need to get the whole multi-disciplinary team involved as soon as possible. Most importantly we need to help people with arthritis to understand and manage their illness, so that they have the maximum control over their lives.

“The Pennine Rheumatology Centre (PRC) at Rochdale Infirmary will allow us to focus intensively on people with the worst arthritis giving rapid access to the multidisciplinary team, delivering complex diagnostic tests and treatments as quickly and safely as possible, and also develop research on improved treatments.

“The new centre will create a critical mass of Rheumatology expertise which we hope will allow us to be leaders in Rheumatology Services across Greater Manchester. We also want to move as much treatment as possible into the community, and where possible in people’s homes.”

Rheumatology Services are provided on each of the Trust’s four hospital sites - at North Manchester and Fairfield General Hospitals, The Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary. Most services will still be provided locally in the outpatient departments at each hospital.

The changes are part of the Healthy Futures reconfiguration programme across the NE sector of Greater Manchester.

A presentation by Dr Neil Snowden about the planned changes and the creation of the new Pennine Rheumatology Centre (PRC) will be held on Tuesday 24 January at 2–3 pm and 7–8pm at the Education Centre, Rochdale Infirmary. The free event is open to the public, staff and the Pennine Acute Trust’s Foundation Trust members.

To book your place contact Angela Greenwood on 01706 517302 or email ft.membership@pat.nhs.uk