Why one in three Scots need the SNP to start taking this painful condition seriously – Lauren Bennie

Yet Scotland still has no dedicated national MSK action plan. For conditions affecting so many people, and placing such demands on individuals, families and the NHS, that omission is difficult to justify.

World Arthritis Day, on Monday, is an opportunity to change that. Raising awareness matters, but people living with arthritis need awareness to translate into earlier diagnosis, better treatment and practical support.

READ MORE: ‘Arthritis ruined my childhood. Helping others is my therapy’

Stark inequality between rich and poor

Too often, arthritis is dismissed as an inevitable consequence of ageing: stiff joints, slowing down and something people must simply accept. That misunderstanding can leave people feeling their pain is being overlooked.

Arthritis can affect people at any age. Across Scotland, around 48,000 children and young people live with an MSK condition. For them, symptoms can disrupt education, friendships and the activities that should be part of growing up.

The burden is also unequal. People in Scotland’s poorest communities are twice as likely to report an MSK condition as those in the most affluent, the highest disparity across the UK. Tackling MSK health must therefore be part of tackling health inequalities.

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The Scottish government’s commitment to a national orthopaedics plan is welcome. Its Programme for Government also promises that nobody will wait more than 26 weeks for treatment by the end of 2031.

For people waiting in pain for a hip or knee replacement, progress cannot come soon enough. These commitments must be backed by the staff, resources and clear delivery milestones needed to make them a reality.

But someone’s experience of arthritis begins long before an operation, and many will need care that does not involve surgery. An orthopaedics plan cannot, on its own, meet the needs of everyone with an MSK condition.

READ MORE: Eight in 10 Brits have experienced chronic aches and pains, and say life is 'on hold'

12-year-old’s sore elbow

For some, the first hurdle is having their symptoms taken seriously. Arthritis UK’s research found that six-in-ten respondents lived in pain most or all of the time, while more than a third felt their condition was not well managed.

Behind those findings are people like Rebecca, from Edinburgh, now in her mid-20s. She was 12 when she woke with a swollen, painful elbow. Her symptoms were initially dismissed as a swimming injury. A year of hospital appointments, referrals and unsuccessful treatments followed before she saw a rheumatologist and was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

“At such a young age, it felt like I’d lost a big part of who I was,” she recalls. The impact reached beyond her joints, interrupting friendships, hobbies and everyday life at a formative age. Her experience challenges the assumption that arthritis belongs only to later life.

Today, Rebecca’s condition is well managed. She completed the London Marathon in April, showing what can be possible with appropriate treatment and support. But her achievement does not erase the difficulties she faced getting a diagnosis.

Emotional impact of pain

Her story illustrates why Scotland needs a comprehensive MSK action plan alongside the national orthopaedics plan, covering the whole journey from first symptoms to ongoing care.

That means clearer routes to diagnosis, timely access to rheumatology and physiotherapy, effective pain management, and support to manage a condition day to day. It means helping people understand their treatment and know where to turn when symptoms change.

The plan must also address the emotional impact of persistent pain and the practical difficulties of accessing services. Patients should help shape it, alongside clinicians, government and organisations supporting people with arthritis.

Crucially, it needs named leadership, adequate resources, measurable objectives and published timescales. People must be able to see who is responsible for improving services and whether those improvements are happening. Keeping people active, independent and in work should be central to this approach.

Arthritis UK’s UK-wide survey found that half of respondents said arthritis had affected their ability to work. Of those, nearly four in ten had stopped working because of their condition.

Leaving work can mean losing income, confidence, routine and social contact. Families feel the consequences too, while employers lose skills and experience. Supporting people who want to remain in employment should be a shared priority for health services and workplaces.

Earlier treatment, accessible rehabilitation and appropriate workplace adjustments can help. People should receive support before they reach the point where continuing in their job feels impossible.

The struggle to get help

As the Scottish government takes forward NHS reform, MSK services must have a clear place in the new arrangements. Reorganisation should strengthen clinical leadership and continuity of care, with patients’ needs guiding decisions about how services are delivered.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of World Arthritis Day and 90 years since the origins of Arthritis UK. There is much to recognise in the progress made through research, treatment and support. Yet too many people still struggle to get the help they need.

MSPs across every party should now support a national MSK action plan and press for its delivery. Ministers have an opportunity to build on the orthopaedics commitment and give this issue the sustained attention it deserves.

For 1.7 million Scots, the test will be whether daily life improves: whether pain is taken seriously, care arrives sooner and more people can keep doing what matters to them. The time for a comprehensive action plan is now.

Lauren Bennie is head of Scotland for Arthritis UK