New helpline to support people with arthritis

A new helpline providing emotional and practical support to people with arthritis was unveiled today by Arthritis Ireland.

The helpline, manned by people who are themselves living with the condition, is an entirely confidential service, open to anyone affected by arthritis.

“When people are first diagnosed with arthritis, their initial response is often one of shock…they have so many questions about how it will affect them, whether their family will be able to cope, if they can continue working and what impact it will have on their income and finances,” according to Grainne O'Leary, training and development manager with Arthritis Ireland.

“Researching the helpline, we found that having volunteers who have arthritis themselves, would be the best model as they could be empathetic with callers,” she added.

The helpline was set up as arthritis affects one in six people in Ireland and it is often a misunderstood condition that can be very painful and debilitating, Ms O'Leary said. "People can call the helpline for a myriad of things from small information requests on managing pain and the type of treatments available to dietary issues, and managing arthritis on an emotional level”, she added.

Welcoming the launch of the helpline, author Maeve Binchy, who has arthritis, said: “People are often inclined to dismiss arthritis, which is very unfair as it can often result in a greatly reduced quality of life for the person affected”.

The Arthritis Ireland National Helpline is indeed a great step forward for people with arthritis as it can help them to take control of their condition and get their life back, she said.

The helpline is available from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. The contact number is 1890 252846.