Report on work, best practice and recommendations to address the needs of people living with musculoskeletal conditions
Arthritis Research UK has published a report on work and people living with musculoskeletal conditions; one of them is fibromyalgia. ''This report describes the impact of musculoskeletal conditions on the UK workforce and gives the perspectives of people with musculoskeletal conditions about working life. It considers:
- current health and work policy and programmes
- the health and work research agenda
- relevant employment legislation.
It also highlights some examples of good practice by employers, and sets out a series of recommendations to address the needs of people with musculoskeletal conditions who want to work''.
The report can be found here: http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/policy-and-public-affairs/reports-and-resources/reports/work-report.aspx
Hannah Edwards 25 Km Thames Bridges Trek challenge for FMA UK
Hannah Edwards will do the Thames Bridges 25 Km Trek to raise awareness and funds for FMA UK. Hannah will also organise a cake sale at work. She told us: ‘’I have chosen to support the work of FMA UK because someone close to me was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, which has been an emotional journey. Before this diagnosis I hadn't heard of this condition before, so I wanted to raise awareness and hopefully that goes some way to contribute to the work that FMA UK does in the community.
I have never done anything like this before so it should be fun!''
To sponsor Hannah visit her JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Hannah-Edwards15
Event in Cardiff, 13th August
Gail Neal and her son, Adam Neal, together with the Cosplay community are organising a fibromyalgia awareness event in Cardiff on the 13th August in the Cardiff City Museum. There will be a street collection across Cardiff city centre for FMA UK.
Gail told us: ‘’Adam and his colleagues are raising money for FMA UK as he has experience of seeing how Fibromyalgia has changed my life and my daily struggle to manage the condition. He has found that there is little or no support in our area for Fibromyalgia and that the local medical profession is ill equipped to effectively support patients with the condition. He also wishes to raise awareness to the general public about this syndrome to enable people to be more tolerant towards people with Fibromyalgia’’.
We hope that you can attend the event and support the fundraising.
Holly Kirby, 16, will sky dive on Saturday 9 July for FMA UK and her mum
‘’I'm Holly Kirkby. I'm 16 years old and live in North Wales. In 2003, my mum's world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition of widespread pain and profound fatigue throughout the human body. As like most illnesses every individual is targeted through different levels and stages. Unfortunately, my mum suffers severely from Fibro meaning the past 12 years of her life have practically been stolen from her. Fibromyalgia has prevented my mum from doing the most important things for any parent, such as providing for her family, participating in days out however their just the big things.
The past couple of years my mum has lost the ability to do the tasks most of us take for granted everyday, such as getting out of bed and getting changed every morning. Fibromyalgia stole that from my mum.
Walking, Lifting, Bending, EVEN EATING can be a daily struggle for her nowadays.
For mum this is affecting her in every stage of life, physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially.
Houghton-Le-Spring community group, Space 4, event in support of FMA UK
On the Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, May the 12th, Space 4, a community group in Houghton-Le-Spring, Sunderland, organised an event in aid of fibromyalgia to raise funds and awareness. Jorgie Carmichael, a member of the group, who lives with fibromyalgia, said: ‘’The event was great. We raised over £137. Lots of people from the group and St Michael & All Angel Church Houghton-Le-Spring helped and brought items to sell and for the raffle.
We sold cake & savoury foods and many other items, from cuddly bees to homemade cards. One of the volunteers massaged hands and painted nails of some of the people who came in. We also held a raffle.
Online forum admin volunteer vacancy
About Our Health Unlocked online community
Health Unlocked is FMA UK online Community Forum, where people can get support and information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Volunteer Admins support provides a welcoming environment for people affected by fibromyalgia. Volunteer Admins enable us to provide a better, more responsive service.
Role Description
This role can be based anywhere in the UK, from home, and undertaken when it is convenient to the volunteer. No fixed time commitment is needed, however we will ask you to login and respond to tasks regularly.
What will you be doing?
- Supporting the discussion forum alongside other Volunteer Admins
- Helping to ensure the community forum is a relevant, welcoming and a supportive environment
- Posting messages to welcome new members to the forum and helping the Admin team to ensure that posts are replied to.
- Directing community forum members to useful resources on the FMA UK Community Forum or FMA UK website.
More Articles...
- Louise Maule ''Aloe challenge' for FMA UK
- Summary from the Fibromyalgia awareness event in the Parliament, 11 May 2016
- Write to your MP and ask for support for Early Day Motion on Chronic Pain
- Join the #DesignforMSK project for young people
- Tim Daniel will sky-dive for FMA UK
- Gig in Glasgow for FMA UK, 30 June
- National Helpline 0300 999 3333 (10am - 4pm Mon - Fri)
- Benefits Helpline 0300 999 0055 (10am - 12pm Mon, Wed, and Fri)
- Complimentary information booklets for doctors and other professionals (fully referenced)
- Books and videos
- Website Contacts with legal specialists
- Conferences
- Local support group and helpline contacts
Trustee meetings are held monthly via Skype and last about 2 hours. There is an annual meeting that coincides with our group leaders’ meeting over a weekend.
If your Medical Professional needs some education in fibromyalgia you can request that an FMA UK Medical Professionals Pack is sent out to them. All we need is the name of the Medical Professional and the address of their practice. We will then send a pack to their surgery addressed from us to them.
You can request a medical pack using this form.
We are delighted to announce that our recent assessment for The Information Standard has been successful and we continue to fulfil the criteria for using the TIS logo on our publications.
The rigorous process that has to be in place ensures that up to date evidence is used and presented to people in an appropriate way. The process is ongoing and requires much diligence by everyone involved.
We would like to thank everyone who has worked on our publications or sent in their comments and suggestions for improvement
FMA UK is now able to receive text donations from your mobile. With our partners you are now able to send a text from your mobile to 70070 with the code of FMUK01 and your amount that you would like to donate to us. For example if you would like to donate £5 to FMA UK* you would text FMUK01 £5 to 70070. You would then be given the opportunity to add Gift Aid - meaning FMA UK benefits from an extra 25% on top of your original donation.
You can find a Support Group near you by contacting the Regional Coordinator for your area. If there does not happen to be a support group near you then maybe you can join with some other members and set one up. Support groups provide a social benefit as well as the opportunity to share tips on coping with fibro. They come in all shapes and sizes and we are often told how they have helped people.
