The British Society for Rheumatology has today launched a major awareness raising campaign. Painful, debilitating, and costly, rheumatic conditions can make even the simplest tasks — such as eating, brushing your teeth and driving a car — impossible.

Simple Tasks is a national awareness campaign to help people understand the negative impact of diagnosing and treating rheumatic conditions, outside what is recognised as the ‘window of opportunity’ – the first 12 weeks after onset of symptoms. The later diagnosis and treatment is received, the greater the chances of permanent damage, pain and disability. There are many rheumatic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gout, and lupus. The average time taken to diagnose ankylosing spondylitis is currently eight years and for rheumatoid arthritis this is nine months. In addition to NRAS, the campaign is supported by other charities and organisations including the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS), Arthritis Care, Arthritis Research UK, Scottish Society for Rheumatology and British Association and College of Occupational Therapists.

The campaign has already featured in the Times Newspaper today, both in the 'letters to the Editor' and in the Health section. More information about the appeal can be found on our website here: http://www.nras.org.uk/c...s_raising_campaign.aspx

For those on Twitter/Facebook, have a look at the BSR pages here: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rheumUK
Twitter - https://twitter.com/RheumatologyUK

Best wishes
Emma