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KGH's Rheumatology Team is one of the top performing

The Kettering General Hospital Rheumatology Team – one of the top performing Trusts nationally in the early diagnosis and management of inflammatory arthritis.

Kettering General Hospital’s Rheumatology Team is one of the top performing Trusts nationally in the early diagnosis and management of inflammatory arthritis.

All Trusts in England and Wales have to take part in a national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis.

The audit - overseen by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) – involves all adults (16 and over) who are referred to a hospital specialist with suspected early inflammatory arthritis.

The audit looks at whether these patients are seen by a specialist within three weeks of GP referral and started on appropriate treatment within six weeks.

KGH Consultant Rheumatologist and Clinical Lead for Rheumatology, Dr Anoop Kuttikat, said: “The earlier we diagnose inflammatory arthritis and begin appropriate treatment the better the chances of preventing any long term deformity and damage for the patient.

“As a team, our consultants, specialist nurses, and administrators, all work very closely together to ensure that we see these patients in a timely way.

“We are pleased to have achieved one of the best rates in England and Wales for this and it has been a great morale boost for our team.

“We plan to continue to work hard to deliver this level of excellent care for patients going forward.”

The audit shows that 86.5% of patients with suspected rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis were seen within three weeks and 85.7% were started on appropriate treatment within six weeks.

This was based on 111 patients referred – of which 21 had early inflammatory arthritis.

Overall the national audit recruited over 18,000 patients from across England and Wales. The top 10 performers against the standard – known as the NICE Quality Statement 2 – were:

  • Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
  • Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust
  • Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
  • Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
  • Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
  • Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust .

 

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