A 9-month wait for arthritis treatment: Delay can mean a lifetime of agony for victims
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A GP examins a patient's hand for signs of arthritis, but a report says many are not trained to know what help to offer
Thousands of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers face a lifetime of agony because they are not being treated quickly enough, a report says.
Guidelines state that patients should receive treatment within three months of the first symptoms appearing.
But the average wait is nine months - and GPs are not trained well enough to know what help to offer.
There is no cure, but experts say that if arthritis is diagnosed in the first three months, drugs can be given which limit its progression. This means the disease will not be as painful as it would have been if the condition was diagnosed later.
Waiting to see a doctor can effect you for the rest of your life. And how are there NOT going to be enormous wait-times with everyone in the country in the system. Are they going to find a few thousand more doctors to treat people - after they build a few thousand more hospitals?
People have their head in the clouds about how wonderful this would be - without thinking of the realities.




