Resistant spondyloarthritis

The Resistant Spondyloarthritis clinic is for patients with all types of spondyloarthritis (a term for several inflammatory diseases that primarily affect the spine but also other joints).

What we do

The conditions we deal with include:

Ankylosing Spondylitis
Psoriatic Arthritis
Arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel disease (also called Enteropathic Arthritis)
Adults whose arthritis has developed from childhood arthritis.

These conditions can affect people differently at different times. Most of the time, most patients are well so our main job is to ensure that the risks and benefits of medication are carefully balanced.

We also need to ensure that we can provide additional treatments if the condition flares up.

At other times, we help prioritise treatment for the different problems in the skin, joints, spine, eyes, bowel and other areas.

In these specialist areas, we can recognise when treatment for one part of the condition might aggravate other aspects of the disease, and we work with other healthcare specialists to manage this when necessary.

Treatment decisions

Patients face challenging decisions about treatment, and our experience helps us to advise patients about their options.

We follow NICE guidance for the use of biologic therapies and have a large number of patients taking these drugs with all the recommended follow-up and precautions, with excellent results.

Referrals are welcome from GPs, specialists and rheumatologists from across the region.

We provide expert specialist care and hold combined clinics with specialist colleagues in dermatology, gastroenterology and ophthalmology.

Meet the team

The team consists of:

Two rheumatology consultants (Dr Lesley Kay and Dr Ben Thompson)
Clinical Nurse Specialist (Michelle Rutherford)
Extended Scope Practitioner in Physiotherapy (Maureen Motion)
Specialist Occupational Therapist (Gemma O’Callaghan)
Research Associate (Vicki Hindmarsh)

After an induction programme with us, spondyloarthritis patients can refer themselves to our specialist outpatient Physiotherapy Department.

Here they can access the full range of physiotherapy facilities, including hydrotherapy.

Research

Patients who attend the service can also be involved in research studies about their condition. For example, we are a recruiter for the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register for Ankylosing Spondylitis , and have enabled patients to take part in clinical trials of new medications, educational research projects and genetic studies.