On Monday, Heather showed her support for people with arthritis in South Derbyshire, at a Drop-In event hosted by charity Versus Arthritis in the Houses of Parliament. According to a new report by the charity, over 10 million people in the UK are living with arthritis – that’s one in six of us.
At the event, Heather spoke directly to people with arthritis and NHS professionals about what it is like living with the debilitating condition. The pain of arthritis can take away your ability to work, care for a family, and live independently, and according to Versus Arthritis, the condition will cost the NHS £118 billion over the next decade.
The charity also presented findings from its new report, the State of Musculoskeletal Health 2023, which reveals that arthritis is one of the leading causes of sickness absence in the UK, causing 23 million lost working days in 2021 alone. Many of those who cannot work due to arthritis are waiting for joint replacement surgery, which has some of the longest waiting times in the UK.
Heather says:
“The pain of arthritis can take away your ability to work, care for a family, and live independently, and according to Versus Arthritis, the condition will cost the NHS an eye-watering £118 billion over the next decade. I am working incredibly hard with local authorities to bring waiting times down for the people of South Derbyshire living with arthritis.”
