The Rheumatology Team
Consultant Rheumatologists and Specialist Nurses
Our consultants specialise in rheumatic conditions and will carry out initial investigation and diagnosis. They may review your medication with you and other members of the team. They may see you for follow up appointments with you if necessary. Specialist rheumatology nurses may talk about different medications used to help including drug therapy. They can also help with ways to manage pain, cope with your condition and other related issues.
Physiotherapy
You may be given the chance to see a Physiotherapist after you are diagnosed or you may be referred to Physiotherapy throughout your journey. By finding out what is important to you, they can help you develop an effective long-term plan to best mange your condition.
They may help you to build confidence when starting to become more active again, improve strength which helps protect the joints, regain general fitness for physical and mental health and in some cases they may give joint injections is your arthritis is active.
Occupational Therapy
Our occupational therapists can work with you related to your arthritis when it impacts on self-care, housework, family, leisure and/or employment.
They can support you to adapt your surroundings to make life easier for you and offer advice about changes to your current lifestyle.
They can offer you advice on meaningful activities to improve or maintain your physical and mental wellbeing for example taking up a past or new leisure activity.
Clinical Psychology
Psychological input may be offered if you are finding it difficult to cope with feelings about your diagnosis or the impact of your condition.
Dealing with a new diagnosis or ill health can be a stressful process, and psychology may be able to offer you emotional support in learning to manage this.
This may be for a one off appointment, or a number of sessions, focused on helping you find ways to cope with the emotional effects of a rheumatic condition.
Podiatry
Rheumatology podiatrists are trained to help reduce the impact of inflammatory arthritis on your foot health and promote healthy lifestyle choices.
They may assess the movement in the joints of your lower limbs and assess your gait pattern. They can offer support in a number of ways such as supplying insoles and orthotics, steroid joint injections and ultrasounds to check your joints. They may also be able to offer advice on exercises to improve mobility and strength, advice on comfortable footwear and even refer you for specialist footwear.
Rheumatology Pharmacy
Our rheumatology pharmacist can review your medication and discuss whether you feel your current prescription is working effectively.
Specialist rheumatology pharmacists have undertaken further training and may assess your joints, answer questions you may have in relation to medicines and can make changes to your prescription as necessary.
