Pain services severely inadequate: report

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJan 11 2011

The Patients Association has urged the Government to create a clear care pathway for chronic pain services throughout the National Health Service. This came in after a survey of more than 4,000 patients revealed significant shortcomings in care.

The report says that nearly 7.8 million people are affected by chronic pain daily that means a continuous, long-term pain lasting more than 12 weeks or after the expected time of healing following trauma or surgery has elapsed. However there is only one pain specialist available for every 32,000 sufferers found the survey sponsored by a grant from Napp Pharmaceuticals. The total expense to the NHS and economy has not been determined, but it is known that adolescent chronic pain costs the NHS around £3.8 billion. Back pain that leads to over 4.9 million annual sick days costs the economy £5 billion a year.

The results also showed that; –

• 32% of patients were unsure how to use prescribed medication
• 57% were unsure about potential side effects of pain medication
• 23% of chronic pain sufferers had been referred to a pain specialist
• A third of patients were not taking medicines as prescribed by their GPs

Katherine Murphy, head of the Patients Association said, “This report reveals the shocking disparity of pain management services across the UK.” She added that current pain pathway is “confusing and not clearly defined”, and stressed that, with the switch to GP commissioning, “it is essential that the new NHS Commissioning Board issues GPs with a clear description of the pain pathway and guidance as to how GPs should commission pain services.” Anne Begg, chair of the all-party parliamentary chronic pain group added, “Patients need to have the confidence to go to their doctor and talk about their pain without fear of being treated as a nuisance… They need employers to recognize that chronic pain is a seriously debilitating condition and healthcare professionals need a clear pain pathway in the NHS to follow.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said the government was looking to carry out a thorough audit of pain services adding, “Despite examples of good practice, we recognize there is unacceptable variation in the care people receive.”