Medway trust acquires ultrasound units for community rheumatology service

Rheumatologists Professor Yasser El-Miedany and Dr Amjad Jilani have purchased two Esaote MyLab X7s for a new service within a community setting, offering the Dartford and Medway area of Kent fast access to MSK/rheumatology services. This service follows the model Professor El-Miedany set up in the Dartford, Grave-sham and Swanley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Darent Valley Hospital (DVH), that demonstrated the success of a 24-hour access service for patients presenting with giant cell arteritis (GCA).

The two systems will be used for urgent care in GCA and liver stiffness ratio studies using elastography. A service has been set up among the CCG, DVH and Community Rheumatology Centre in Northfleet to offer assessment and management within 24 hours of referral. This clinic will improve the service in terms of quick access for GCA patients, allowing prompt treatment and monitoring. Ultrasound is a key part of the pathway to access diagnosis and treatment.

The ultrasound systems will also play an important role in early arthritis management. An early arthritis referral and management pathway has been agreed with the CCG, with joint ultrasonography at its core. Audits carried out and published at the British Society of Rheumatology and EULAR conferences revealed how ultrasound contributed to changing the early arthritis service to run as a one-stop service. This has allowed the service to positively contribute to the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit.

Picture: Rheumatologists Dr Amjad Jilani and Professor Yasser El-Miedany.

Published on page 5 of the August 2020 issue of RAD Magazine.