GAT Achievements

GAT is dedicated to helping the 80,000 people, throughout Gloucestershire, who are affected by the constant pain of Arthritis get their lives back on track. We do this by providing specialist medical equipment for our local hospitals to support the work of Orthopaedic surgeons, their medical staff and Physiotherapists. Thanks to our members and volunteers, we know that our grants help up to 3,000 patients get their lives back on track every year. This drives our passion to help even more people - will you help us by making an online donation at: www.justgiving.com/gotarthritis.

Treatments GAT's grants have recently made possible

OSCAR units are used to remove bone cement when a replacement joint is being replaced. GAT recently purchased two units so that patients in both Cheltenham and Gloucester hospitals will benefit - costing £74,736.

Spinal Arthritis is particularly difficult to treat and operations require very specialist surgery - that is why GAT has funded the purchase of the most advanced Jackson operating table for the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital - costing £52,855.

A Shoulder Surgery operating table and an Arthroscopic pump have been supplied to Cheltenham General to benefit those suffering with upper limb Arthritis. This has been appreciated by mature tennis, cricket, hockey, golf and squash players - costing £25,900.

GAT bought Gloucestershire's first set of Hip Arthroscopy traction equipment. This enables surgeons to treat pre-Arthritic conditions in "younger" patients (around 40-50 years old) to hopefully delay or prevent them developing Osteoarthritis later on in life - costing £16,025.

GAT has supplied a specialist "Shock Wave" system to Cheltenham General Hospital to treat Resistant Heel Pain helping those suffering from Ankle Arthritis - costing £9,995.

Help for local hospitals and health clinics

GAT has provided a range of specialist items for Orthopaedic wards in our local hospitals and in clinics. They can speed up the recovery process and also ease the movement of hundreds of Arthritis patients every year.

Our grants have also been used for a wide variety of Physiotherapy equipment. Exercise bikes are very popular as they don't load joints with added body weight.

Water-based treatment, known as Hydrotherapy, can be very effective for Arthritis sufferers. GAT has given generously to support the improvement of both NHS and privately run Hydrotherapy facilities across the County.

Hundreds of children suffer from Arthritis too

Children as young as two years old can suffer from several types of Juvenile Arthritis. This can have quite an impact on family life, disrupting either child care or education.

Hydrotherapy sessions, together with special junior-sized exercise bikes and treadmills, are some of the ways that the Children's Clinic at Quedgeley and other children's Physiotherapy departments have been helped.