The National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit (NEIAA) short report on ethnicity (12 January 2022)

Summary

The National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit (NEIAA) aims to improve the quality of care for people living with inflammatory arthritis, collecting information on all new patients over the age of 16 in specialist rheumatology departments in England and Wales. This NEIAA report presents data describing the association between ethnicity, experience of care and clinician and patient-reported outcomes.

It found that Black, Asian and ethnic minority patients were less likely to achieve remission at three months (30% compared to 37%) and were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety or depression compared to white patients (33% compared to 30%), despite faster referrals and assessments than white patients.

Content

Key findings of the report include:

• 47% of Black, Asian and ethnic minority patients and 43% of white patients were referred to rheumatology services within three working days of presenting (Quality statement 1)
• 43% of Black, Asian and ethnic minority patients and 42% of white patients were assessed within three weeks of referral 2013 version of QS33 (Quality statement 2)
• A higher proportion of Black, Asian and ethnic minority patients (60%) received timely treatment compared to white patients (57%) (Quality statement 2)
• A high proportion of both groups of patients were provided with disease-related education (93% of Black, Asian and ethnic minority patients and 94% of white patients) (Quality statement 3)
• A high proportion of both groups of patients were able to access care in case of emergencies (91% of Black, Asian and ethnic minority patients and 93% of white patients) (Quality statement 4)
• 34% of Black, Asian and ethnic minority patients and 46% of white patients received a formal annual review (Quality statement 5).