There are currently 14million people in the UK living with persistent pain http://www.policyconnect.org.uk/cppc/about-chronic-pain A rise of 7million since the previous national pain audit of 6years ago. To-date there is little evidence there is any educational pain self-management both in acute/primary care or on the Internet. Therefor I hope this is put on the agenda at the NHS AGM.
This is a part of the bigger agenda for self management programmes. At least one disease specific support group offers a pain management programme. Any good self management programme would encapsulate pain management as a part of the bigger picture. good self management increases quality of life decreases visits to Doctors and Hospitals decreases medication and in many cases puts the patient back into the workforce.
There are currently 14million people in the UK living with persistent pain http://www.policyconnect.org.uk/cppc/about-chronic-pain A rise of 7million since the previous national pain audit of 6years ago. To-date there is little evidence there is any educational pain self-management both in acute/primary care or on the Internet. Therefor I hope this is put on the agenda at the NHS AGM.
Patients are often told to do things that don't work or that make matters worse. They quickly learn not to trust anything they are told. Your wife, of course, is very senior and experienced. Everything she tells patients to do will benefit them in the long run. But she has to learn to counteract the legacy of mistrust created by her less experienced colleagues. Overcoming this is easy. Any clinician who makes matters worse for a patient should be sacked and barred from working in any healthcare role ever again. Patients will gradually learn to trust the experts, and the experts will not have to waste their time with uncooperative patients. The NHS will save money and patient satisfaction will surge.
My wife is a Senior Physio in the NHS and they do practice or try to practice "Self Management" BUT the problem they face is the patients themselves don't often do as they are shown or instructed. Everybody appears to expect a quick cure. SO, how can it be overcome ?.
This is usually a long term problem and GP's with their 7min timeframe don't have time to explain all the ins and outs of this and pass it on to others. Pain management is practised by the majority of physio staff and unlike Rod Whitely's remark of :- " legacy of mistrust created by her less experienced colleagues" staff are well experienced in this area. The problem comes more from the politicians who over the years have offered "choice" which is unrealistic, combined with new drug therapy
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