Putting arthritis on the agenda in Wales

Our campaigning has led to real, tangible change for people with arthritis in Wales.

Our recent campaign successes include:

  • Following our joint campaign with NRAS and BSR, a new multi-consultant, multi-professional paediatric rheumatology service for children with arthritis has been set up at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales. The clinic holds visiting clinics in many parts of South Wales. Before the new service was established, many children with arthritis from South Wales were travelling hundreds of miles to access specialist services in England.
  • Our 2021 Manifesto included a call for a new National Musculoskeletal (MSK) Clinical Lead role (now heading up the National Strategic Clinical network for MSK Health), a National MSK Framework, a national ‘Waiting Well’ policy and a national orthopaedic strategy… all of which were subsequently developed and are now driving service improvements.
  • Over 3,000 of our supporters in Wales wrote to their local MPs in 2025 to campaign against the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

If we look back further, we led the campaign for free prescriptions to be extended to everyone with chronic health conditions in Wales (which led to prescription charges being scrapped in Wales).

Despite these changes, there is still much to do to raise awareness of the impact of arthritis on individuals and on society, to improve health care services for people with arthritis and to make arthritis the health care priority its impact demands.

Campaigners – get involved!

We have an active community of campaigners who are passionate about making a difference for everyone living with arthritis in Wales. There are lots of ways to get involved:

  • Share your story with Versus Arthritis.
  • Follow our accounts on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with our campaigns.
  • Our Change Maker Volunteers develop our campaigning priorities, action plans and engage with their local decision makers. Email us at cymru@versusarthritis.org to request a role description.
  • Join our UK wide Versus Arthritis community and receive regular e-updates, including details of our eaction campaigns.  
  • If you would like to tell us about an issue in your area that you think we should be campaigning on, please email us: cymru@versusarthritis.org.

Information for MSs, MPs, Councillors and other decision makers

With 974,000 people living with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in Wales, we know that many of you will have experienced, personally or with family or friends, the huge impact arthritis can have on quality of life.

We need your help to make sure the needs of people living with arthritis are heard loud and clear in the Senedd, at Westminster, in our local councils and in our Health Boards.

Our Policy and Public Affairs Team in Wales is here to provide you with information and latest research on policy issues. Please do not hesitate to contact us, by emailing cymru@versusarthritis.org, to discuss policy matters, our campaigns or other matters impacting on people with arthritis in your area.

We provide e-updates on orthopaedic waiting times to all MSs each month, should you wish to be added to our distribution list, please email h.evans@versusarthritis.org

Our support services are here for your constituents. Please signpost relevant constituents to our helpline - 0800 5200 520. Our helpline team will provide individually tailored information including details of our local services. We have 30 local support groups in Wales.

Resources for decision makers

Cymru Versus Arthritis: Senedd Election Manifesto 2021  
Cymru Versus Arthritis: MS Welcome Pack 2021  
Versus Arthritis: State of MSK Health 2024 (UK wide document)
NHS Wales Performance & Improvement: National Strategic Clinical Network for MSK Health 
NHS Wales: National MSK Framework 2024-2029
NHS Wales: National MSK Quality Statement 2024
NHS Wales Health Education & Improvement Wales (HEIW): All Wales multi-professional musculoskeletal capability framework
National Clinical Strategy for Orthopaedic Services (NCSOS): National Blueprint for Orthopaedic Surgical Delivery in Wales 2022 and follow-up reports  

Cymru Versus Arthritis current campaigns

Senedd Election Manifesto 2026 [Link coming soon]

Our Senedd Election Manifesto 2026 will be published in February 2026 and distributed to all major parties’ candidates ahead of the election. We are keen to share our policy ideas and calls with decision makers as we develop our manifesto. Should you wish to discuss our manifesto with us, please contact h.evans@versusarthritis.org

Reduce waiting times for orthopaedic surgery

Waiting times for orthopaedic surgery remain far too long, with tens of thousands of people waiting over a year in severe and worsening pain for treatment. Many are losing their mobility, independence and ability to work as they wait for treatment. Multiple waiting times targets have been missed by the Welsh Government.

To reduce waiting times, we are calling for a new national orthopaedic action plan to identify the workforce & facilities needed to meet both current and projected demand through an expanded network of local and regional surgical hubs.

Improve arthritis health care services

MSK conditions are among the biggest cause of persistent pain, disability and working days lost. The prevalence and impact of MSK conditions on the NHS and economy is huge and projected to increase. The Welsh Government needs to prioritise MSK health policy, and work to reduce the impact of arthritis on current and future generations.

We are working to support the new National MSK Clinical Strategy Network to develop pathways of care and service specification to drive up health care standards across Wales. The National MSK Framework, MSK Quality Statement and the Multi-professional MSK Capability Framework need to be fully implemented across Wales.