GIRFT’s joint clinical leads for paediatric rheumatology have picked up a prestigious specialty award for their work establishing a learning collaborative to improve the quality of care for children and young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).  

Dr Flora McErlane won the British Society for Rheumatology’s Paediatric Rheumatology Award for her abstract ‘Embedding quality improvement across paediatric and adolescent rheumatology: the JIA Learn experience’; JIA Learn is a collaborative funded by the BSR in partnership with GIRFT which Dr McErlane and fellow GIRFT clinical lead Dr Gavin Cleary established with the help of Rubis.QI. 

The BSR’s sought-after Abstract Awards, selected from around 450 abstracts, recognise significant contributions to rheumatology research and clinical practice. Dr McErlane was presented with her award at the BSR conference in Manchester last month. 

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common type of arthritis in children, characterised by persistent joint pain, swelling, and stiffness, and can lead to serious complications if not managed properly.  

Dr McErlane and Dr Cleary set up JIA Learn (the Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) Learning Collaborative) in 2023, bringing together twelve paediatric rheumatology teams from across England to work through an improvement collaborative model. 

Based on co-production with children, young people and their families, the collaborative worked to share ideas, learn QI methodology and work towards improving patient care over 18 months – establishing a joint improvement aim and measuring success through data collection.  

Drs McErlane and Cleary were appointed to lead the GIRFT paediatric rheumatology workstream in 2024 and have been carrying out a national review of rheumatology services for children and young people, developing national pathways, sharing best practice, and extending support to centres facing challenges. Their national report is due to be shared later this year.