Kim Kardashian suffers with psoriasis
People with psoriasis in the UK are suffering as NHS specialists fail to follow national guidelines for their care and management, according to new results from The Psoriasis Association.
The survey, supported by Janssen, asked over 600 psoriasis patients whether their doctor had offered a simple assessment called the “PASI” which records how bad their disease is; only a shocking 16 per cent of sufferers responded that they had been tested, or were aware that they had been tested.
The survey also revealed high levels of dissatisfaction with the standard of care received by patients across the UK, with Northern Ireland, Wales, Yorkshire and the South East coast of England being highlighted as areas of particular concern.
Estimated to affect approximately 1.5 million people in the UK, psoriasis is a painful and debilitating condition characterised by red, raised and inflamed patches on the skin and is classified as being mild, moderate or severe. As well as being physically debilitating, psoriasis can have a deep psychological impact.
Helen McAteer, Chief Executive of The Psoriasis Association says: “The British Association of Dermatologists recommends that everyone with psoriasis should have the severity of their disease assessed – taking into consideration where on the body it appears, how widespread it is and the thickness and redness of the plaques.
"Using the PASI helps patients and doctors understand the physical severity of the psoriasis and, with ongoing checks, what improvements treatment is making. Psoriasis is complicated to treat - it doesn’t stay in one place. Improvement might be seen in one area of the body only for it to resurface elsewhere. That’s why it’s so important to have regular reviews of both treatment and disease activity built into the care of people with psoriasis, and that any assessment includes the impact that psoriasis is having on a patient’s quality of life.
“The survey results show that the majority of people with psoriasis are not aware of their PASI, which has a worrying and detrimental impact on the care that they receive. As an organisation that exists to empower patients and represent their interests, we are calling for the PASI assessment to be included in the forthcoming review by NICE. Guidelines are already in place regarding the prescribing of certain treatments for psoriasis that require a PASI score and this one measure would help enormously in our bid to ensure all patients across the UK have access to appropriate care and treatment.”
The results of the Know Your PASI Survey will be presented at the House of Commons on November 8 as part of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin meeting.
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