Our response to Liberal Democrats comments that the NHS Elective Reform Plan is “putting hip replacements over heart attacks”

In a recent statement the Liberal Democrats claimed the Government Plan risked ‘putting hip replacements over heart attacks’, minimising the experience of so many people waiting for life-changing surgery. We’ve written to the Lib Dems asking for a meeting to share our community’s concerns.

The Liberal Democrats' response to the Elective Reform Plan

On Monday 6th January the Prime Minister and the NHS published its Elective Reform Plan to tackle the NHS backlog and return to treating 92% of patients within 18 weeks.

In a press release the Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson Helen Morgan MP likened the new plan to ‘putting hip replacements over heart attacks’. This diminishes the very real pain and suffering that hundreds of thousands of people across the country feel every day, whilst they wait for life-changing surgery. 

That’s why we’ve written to the Lib Dems, asking for an urgent meeting to share the devastating impact of arthritis and our vision for the change needed to improve people’s lives with a future free from arthritis.

Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive of Versus Arthritis said: 

“I've been thinking a lot about this Lib Dems soundbite and I am unclear when it became acceptable in political discourse to play 'Top Trumps' with health conditions and diminish the impact they may have on people's lives."  

“Comments like this show how vital it is we continue to raise the profile of the impact of arthritis and work with Government and policymakers to drive the change needed to improve lives. We look forward to working with all parties to ensure people with arthritis receive the treatment they deserve.”  

Tackling waiting times fairly

We are aware that the objectives of the statement were to highlight the incredibly important issue of the significant waits in A&E, and the need for the Government to do much more to tackle this so that people can get the lifesaving support they need.

Nobody would disagree that treating heart attacks and other life-threatening conditions promptly is absolutely vital and clearly requires additional investment within an NHS system which is near to breaking.

But this is not about one condition being prioritised over another. People in need of NHS treatment often have more than one health condition. But it is about being fair.

The impact of waiting times on people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions 

Arthritis is one of the biggest causes of disability in the UK. The waiting list for trauma and orthopaedic treatment is currently at 1 million - the single largest cohort of the NHS backlog.  It is critical this is tackled as the longer people wait, the worse their condition becomes, making treatment both more difficult and costly to the NHS.

Living in constant agony can also cause a deterioration in people's mental health, their ability to work and to live the lives they choose.

The impact on our economy is also significant: the cost of working days lost due to osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis alone is estimated to reach 3.43 billion by 2030 unless it is addressed now.

It’s crucial that we do all we can to dispel the myths around living with arthritis and make clear the full impact living with these conditions can have on someone’s life. It is right that we tackle the pain that people with arthritis have every day.

We have written to the Liberal Democrats to outline our concerns and offer a full briefing on this area. We await their response.