In RA the body's immune system attacks the joints Tens of
thousands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not
being diagnosed or treated quickly enough, says a watchdog. The
National Audit Office says over half a million people in England
live with the disease, with 26,000 new cases a year - double the
current estimate. But only a tenth are treated within three
months of symptoms starting, as ideally they should be. This is
because many delay seeing a GP, and RA is difficult to diagnose.
Professor Alan Silman, medical director of the Arthritis
Research Campaign, said the report painted an "unsurprising but
depressingly gloomy picture of the state of current patient
care". Early diagnosis and treatment is key to minimising the
damage and disability caused by this progressive and incurable
joint disease. But people rarely associate RA symptoms -
painful, swollen or stiff joints - with a condition needing
prompt medical attention. According to the NAO, up to three
quarters of people with RA delay seeing