What do users want from rheumatology telephone advicelines? A cross-sectional survey evaluation with the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society

Objectives Telephone advicelines are a key component of NHS rheumatology services and increased demand poses challenges for users and service providers. To explore the experiences of people using these services we undertook an evaluation survey with the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). Methods An online survey, co-designed with people with lived experience, was distributed by NRAS between August and September 2024. This collected data on respondent demographics, reasons for contacting adviceline services, experiences of using the adviceline and how services could be improved. Results A total of 1423 participants completed the survey. The majority were female, (n = 1338, 94%), of White British ethnicity (n = 1455, 95%) had rheumatoid arthritis (n = 1288,91%), with a disease duration of over 6 years (n = 975,68%) and aged between 61–80 years (n = 849, 56%). Most services were automated (n = 1273,85%), although participants would prefer to speak to someone directly (n = 889,59%). The main reasons for contacting advicelines were experiencing a flare (n = 946,66%), pain (n = 876, 61%) and medication concerns (n = 863, 61%). Most participants found the advice to be ‘helpful-very helpful’ (n = 847,59%) and were ‘confident to very confident’ (n = 866, 61%) they could implement the advice given. 839 (56%) calls were returned within 48 h. There were 665 free text responses on how telephone advicelines services could be improved which focused on three main areas; increasing availability, improving response times and having more staff to deliver adviceline support. Conclusion The increasing demand for NHS rheumatology telephone adviceline services requires a redesign of current systems to maximise accessibility and manage user expectations.