Arthritis crisis as 200,000 diagnosed in Black Country and Staffordshire

Mrs Millard had been reluctant to visit the doctors as she had been dealing with Ataxia, a condition that affects her balance and speech, since she was a young child.

So despite the frequent agonising pain she was going through, she decided to soldier on.

By the time she did address the problem in 2009, it had got so bad that at times she would struggle to walk.

And since then she has faced a long wait to get equipment she needs for her day job. But she manages to juggle a full-time job as an NHS mental health support worker with looking after her 14 and 19-year-old sons.

She said: "The NHS is under so much pressure now. There is a lot of privatisation and people are having to wait a long time.

"Our occupational health department is now privatised so when I wanted equipment to help me sit at a desk they couldn't help me.

"So I had to go through the Government's Access to Work grant, and it took me 13 months to even get assessed. I have now been given a special office desk that can be risen or lowered."

She cannot undergo an operation as the Ataxia affects her balance, so instead she is doing everything she can to manage her diet and reduce the pain.

By cutting the amount of alcohol she drinks and avoiding oats and white potatoes, she says the impact of her arthritis has lessened. But the 44-year-old, of Cannock, says more needs to be done to help people with arthritis as many are being left to fend for themselves.

Arthritis sufferers and support charities are now campaigning for investment in better treatment and facilities.

Although not all those affected by arthritis are elderly, charity bosses say the ageing population is having an impact and predict that soon the NHS will be unable to cope.

They want more money spent on better facilities – and for GPs to be trained to help sufferers manage their condition if they are left on a waiting list for months, after a survey by Arthritis Action has revealed that more than half of people with the condition feel the NHS is over-stretched.

Research shows there are 45,054 arthritis sufferers in Dudley, compared to 37,696 in Sandwell, 35,942 in Walsall, 31,229 in Wolverhampton, 13,180 in Cannock Chase, 18,103 in Stafford and 14,164 in Wyre Forest. Nationally, 18.2 per cent of the population have arthritis in their knees and 10.92 per cent in their hips. But in Dudley 20.28 per cent have it in their knees, with 20.12 per cent in Sandwell, 20.11 in Walsall, 19.63 in Wolverhampton, 19.57 in Cannock Chase and 17.99 in Stafford.

Campaigners say the total of 195,368 sufferers in the region is too much for the NHS to deal with. In the UK there are around 10 million people living with arthritis. That figure is predicted to rise to 17 million by 2030 with the NHS already spending over £5 billion a year on arthritis and related conditions.

A survey of 777 people by the charity revealed 51 per cent felt they needed to take charge of managing their condition themselves as the NHS is under so much pressure.

Arthritis Action's chief executive, Shantel Irwin, said:

"As the number of people living with arthritis rises year on year, it's time for a step change in the way we view and treat arthritis. We want to see the NHS and charities working together."