Rheumatology

If you need support and advice about your condition and treatment including medication queries, contact the rheumatology advice line:

York: 01904 721854, between 9:00am-1:00pm
Scarborough: 01723 385058

Please leave a message with your name, date of birth, telephone number and NHS number and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Please note the rheumatology advice service is not an emergency service.

If you require urgent medical advice you should consider contacting your GP surgery or NHS 111, and in life threatening circumstances please call 999.

If your medication is prescribed by your GP please speak to them in the first instance with any enquires relating to prescriptions and blood monitoring.

Patient information leaflets

Information leaflets on specific conditions, treatment and management are available to order or download at: Versus Arthritis - Free information leaflets

When to use the rheumatology advice service:

• If you have a ‘flare’ of your arthritis that has not improved using self-help measures.
• If you are experiencing side-effects to your medication and it is prescribed by the rheumatology team.
• If you are going to run out of your rheumatology medication before your next rheumatology appointment and it is prescribed by the rheumatology team.
• If you are going to run out of your rheumatology medication and your Homecare Company have advised a further prescription is required from the rheumatology team.

If your query is relating to an appointment booking please contact Outpatient Contact Centre: 01904 726400.

Resources for rheumatology patients and pregnancy

Below is a list of resources with information about fertility, pregnancy and medications for Rheumatology patients.

• Arthur's Place
• The Breastfeeding Network
• bumps - best use of medicines in pregnancy
• MotherToBaby
• National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS)
• British Society for Rheumatology
• Versus Arthritis

Usually on your first visit to the Rheumatology Department, you will be seen by one of the consultants in a 'general' new patient clinic.

Depending on the diagnosis or treatment, you may be discharged back to your general practitioner or offered a subsequent appointment to be seen in a general or specialist clinic or by another member of rheumatology medical, nursing or allied health professional team.

Our specialist clinics include the following:

• Early Arthritis Clinics for new and returning patients with early inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, which run weekly
• Ankylosing Spondylitis Clinics for patients with ankylosing spondylitis or spondyloarthropathy providing specialist medical and physiotherapy assessment and management, which run bi-monthly
• Connective Tissue Clinics to provide specialist assessment of patients with conditions such as lupus, scleroderma and vasculitis, which run monthly
• A weekly Ultrasound Clinic, which provides the opportunity for further imaging assessments of joints within the rheumatology clinic setting, for example in the assessment of inflammation activity in rheumatoid arthritis
• Injection Clinics run twice weekly to administer local joint and soft tissue therapeutic injections
• Drug assessment and disease monitoring clinics which are run daily by our Specialist Nurses, to assess the safety and efficacy of therapy
• A weekly Research Clinic for patients involved in clinical trials

The Outpatient Department is a busy place, with clinics running for a wide range of specialties, including rheumatology. There are also likely to be a number of different rheumatology clinics running simultaneously.

The Outpatient Nurses and Patient Service Assistants work together with the Rheumatology Team to ensure your visit is as smooth as possible.

On your arrival in the Outpatient Department you should approach the front desk and will be greeted by a Patient Service Assistant who will seat you in the appropriate clinic area. Following this the Outpatient Nurse assigned to your clinic may take your blood pressure, weight and height and you may be asked to provide a urine specimen for testing.

At the time of your appointment the Doctor or Specialist Nurse will call you into their consulting room.

You should expect to receive a clinical assessment which will usually include a range of questions and a physical examination. You may be asked to fill in a questionnaire related to your condition.

We work as a team and so you may see the Consultant, Specialist Nurse or other members of the medical or nursing staff, and this person may be different at each clinic visit, although we do try to limit this as much as possible. There may also be a medical or nursing students present as these clinics are an important part of their education.

Whilst we will try our best to keep to time, some consultations can take longer than expected, so there may be delays to your appointment time.

Further tests, for example a blood test or an x-ray may be suggested during your consultation and usually can take place after your appointment. This may add to the length of time you are at the hospital.

In some circumstances the Doctor or Specialist Nurse may recommend administering a therapeutic injection either into a joint or an intramuscular injection which may be given by the Outpatient Nurse.

We understand that sometimes it is difficult to recall all the information provided to you during your consultation, so we have a range of written material and information leaflets and resources available in the clinic area that the staff may give to you or you can help yourself.

If you need to make a further appointment this can be done at the front desk on leaving the department.