Campaigning in Wales

Putting arthritis on the agenda in Wales

Our campaigning has led to real, tangible change for people with arthritis in Wales.

Our recent campaign successes include: 

• In the Seventh Senedd, a Statement of Opinion on the impact of arthritis became the most supported Senedd Statement of Opinion in devolution history. 
• In the Sixth Senedd, we campaigned successfully for Wales to have its first National Musculoskeletal (MSK) Clinical Lead role, which led to the establishment of the National Strategic Clinical network for MSK Health, a National MSK Framework, and a Quality Statement for MSK Care. We also campaigned successfully for national ‘Waiting Well’ policy and the commissioning of a national orthopaedic strategy. 
• In the Fifth Senedd, following our joint campaign with NRAS and BSR, a new multi-consultant, multi-professional paediatric rheumatology service for children with arthritis was set up at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales. Before the new service was established, many children with arthritis from South Wales travelled hundreds of miles to services in England. 
• In 2025, over 3,000 of our supporters in Wales wrote to their local MPs to campaign against the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP). 

If we look back further, we led the campaign for free prescriptions to be extended to everyone living with arthritis in Wales. The then Welsh Assembly Government subsequently decided to scrap prescription charges in Wales.  

Campaigners – get involved!

We have an active community of campaigners who are passionate about making a difference for everyone living with arthritis in Wales. There are lots of ways to get involved:

• Share your story with Arthritis UK.
• Follow our accounts on Facebook and X to keep up to date with our campaigns.
• Our Change Maker Volunteers develop our campaigning priorities, action plans and engage with their local decision makers. Email us at cymru@arthritis-uk.org to request a role description.
• Join our UK wide Arthritis UK community and receive regular e-updates, including details of our eaction campaigns.  
• If you would like to tell us about an issue in your area that you think we should be campaigning on, please email us: cymru@arthritis-uk.org.

Information for MSs, MPs, Councillors and other decision makers

With 991,000 people living with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in Wales, we know that many of you will have experienced, personally or with family or friends, the huge impact arthritis can have on quality of life. 

We need your help to make sure the needs of people living with arthritis are heard loud and clear in the Senedd, at Westminster, in our local councils and in our Health Boards.

Our Policy and Public Affairs Team in Wales is here to provide you with information and latest research on policy issues. Please do not hesitate to contact us, by emailing cymru@arthritis-uk.org, to discuss policy matters, our campaigns or other matters impacting on people with arthritis in your area.

We provide e-updates on orthopaedic waiting times to all MSs each month, should you wish to be added to our distribution list, please email: cymru@arthritis-uk.org   

We also run free online information sessions for the public – MSs, MPs and councillors are very welcome to join these sessions. Click here for a schedule of sessions and registration details. 

Our support services are here for your constituents. Please signpost relevant constituents to our helpline - 0800 5200 520. Our helpline team will provide individually tailored information including details of our local services, groups and activities.  

Resources for decision makers

Arthritis UK Cymru Manifesto 2026: English / Welsh  
Arthritis UK Cymru: MS Welcome Pack 2026 [To follow] 
Arthritis UK State of MSK Health 2025 English / Welsh
NHS Wales Performance & Improvement: National Strategic Clinical Network for MSK Health 
NHS Wales: National MSK Framework 2024-2029
NHS Wales: National MSK Quality Statement
NHS Wales Health Education & Improvement Wales (HEIW): All Wales multi-professional musculoskeletal capability framework
National Clinical Strategy for Orthopaedic Services (NCSOS): National Blueprint for Orthopaedic Surgical Delivery in Wales 2022 and follow-up reports  

Arthritis UK Cymru current campaigns

Senedd Election Manifesto 2026 

Our Senedd Election Manifesto 2026 was published in February 2026 and distributed to all major parties’ candidates ahead of the election. We are keen to share our policy ideas and calls with decision makers as we develop our manifesto. Should you wish to discuss our manifesto with us, please contact h.evans@arthritis-uk.org

Reduce waiting times for orthopaedic surgery

Waiting times for orthopaedic surgery remain far too long, with tens of thousands of people waiting over a year in severe and worsening pain for treatment. Many are losing their mobility, independence and ability to work as they wait for treatment. Multiple waiting times targets have been missed by the Welsh Government.

To reduce waiting times, we are calling for a new national orthopaedic action plan to identify the workforce & facilities needed to meet both current and projected demand through an expanded network of local and regional surgical hubs.

Improve arthritis health care services

MSK conditions are among the biggest cause of persistent pain, disability and working days lost. The prevalence and impact of MSK conditions on the NHS and economy is huge and projected to increase. The Welsh Government needs to prioritise MSK health policy, and work to reduce the impact of arthritis on current and future generations.

We have been working with the National MSK Clinical Strategy Network (established Oct 2024) to develop pathways of care and service specification to drive up health care standards across Wales. The Network is working to implement the National MSK Framework, MSK Quality Statement and the Multi-professional MSK Capability Framework.  

An ongoing internal review within NHS Wales means that the future status of the MSK Network is in doubt (as of August 2025) and a recruitment freeze during the review has left Wales’s National MSK Clinical Lead role vacant since Dec 2025. We are calling for the MSK Clinical Lead role to be filled as a matter of urgency and for the future status of MSK clinical leadership and network to be secured.