Dr Ben Thompson is a Consultant Rheumatologist specialising in spondyloarthritis (axial spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis and related conditions), musculoskeletal ultrasound and giant cell arteritis.
Ben was appointed as a Consultant in 2012, having trained in Newcastle and been awarded an MD for research into education for people with axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) in 2011. He has worked closely with NASS (the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society) to improve care for people with axial spondyloarthritis. The Freeman Spondyloarthritis team were selected for the NASS ‘Aspiring to Excellence’ quality improvement programme, and Ben led work focussed on improving referral pathways for people with suspected AxSpA, reducing time to diagnosis by improving the recognition and referral by community physiotherapists. He is co-chair of the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) Spondyloarthritis Special Interest Group and one of the lead authors of the 2025 BSR Guidance on the treatment of Axial Spondyloarthritis. He has developed combined clinics with dermatology and gastroenterology, and improved links with radiology to provide ‘joined up’ care for patients with spondyloarthritis. He leads research studies in Newcastle looking at the treatment and care of people with spondyloarthritis.
Within rheumatology ultrasound, Ben is a EULAR (European Rheumatology Society) certified trainer and has an interest in training future rheumatologists and other professionals in detecting joint inflammation and large vessel vasculitis with ultrasound. He runs a weekly ultrasound clinic and uses ultrasound in his day-to-day rheumatology practice. He runs local and national training courses in ultrasound and recently developed and delivered a pre-consultant training Fellowship in musculoskeletal ultrasound.
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