A TOP medical consultant from East Lancashire has stressed that people who suspect they have rheumatoid arthritis should seek help before it’s too late.

John Brockbank, consult-ant rheumatologist for the East Lancashire Hospital Trust, was reacting to a new study by the National Audit Office which stated the condition is more wide-spread than previously thought and not enough is being done to deal with it.

The report also argued that too many people are not being diagnosed or treated quickly enough and some services for the disease are not co-ordinated appropriately.

He said: “Any delay to treatment can result in extra pain as more and more damage is caused to joints. Rheumatoid arth-ritis cannot be cured but with the right course of action the effects can be reduced.”

Rheumatoid arthritis does not have a cause, and affects more than half a million people in England. It is an autoimmune disease which attacks cartilage and bones around joints, lead-ing to severe disability if not properly treated, ideally within the first three months.

Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust said an estimated 1.16 per cent of women and 0.455 per cent of men suffer from the cond-ition. Val Smithson, 60, from Grane Road, Haslingden, who first started with the cond-ition in her twenties, said: “I regret not seeking prompt treatment as it could have slowed down the onset and this would have dramat-ically improved the quality of my life today.”

The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society is launch-ing a campaign designed to raise awareness of the need for early treatment.

Ailsa Bosworth, chief executive said: “A public awareness campaign like those undertaken to tackle other common chronic dis-eases would make the public, health professionals and commissioners aware of the urgent need for specialist treatment to prevent rapid irreversible joint damage that can lead to permanent disability and often loss of employment.”

Contact the charity on 0800 298 7650 or the website below.