Airing Pain 52: Better Care for People in Pain

How to ensure people in pain get the best treatment: a new guideline for chronic pain in Scotland

This edition has been funded by a grant from the Scottish Government.

At the launch of a new guideline on treatment of chronic pain in Scotland, Paul Evans speaks to patients and healthcare professionals about how to raise awareness and improve care.

Marion Beatson and Susan Scott describe the struggles they both endured in trying to get appropriate care after developing chronic pain. They both hope that the new guideline will help people in pain get the support they need in future by setting out clearly the treatment they can expect to receive. Marion’s daughter Chloe talks movingly about how her own life and her relationship with her mum have been affected by Marion’s chronic pain.

Norma Turvill believes the guidelines could raise awareness of the under-recognised issue of chronic pain which is still not understood by some healthcare professionals and Steve Gilbert explains how they could help transform treatment in primary care. Paul Cameron discusses the guideline’s advice on exercise and the different ways in which patients can access exercise therapies.’

Issues covered in this programme include: Raising awareness, policy, family, relationships, educating healthcare professionals, primary care, back pain, chronic primary pain, neuropathic pain, exercise therapies, physiotherapy, patient experience, young carers, voluntary organisations, employment and exercise.

Contributors:

• Dr Steve Gilbert, National Lead Clinician for Chronic Pain, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• Norma Turvill, Physiotherapist and Chronic Pain Services Facilitator
• Marion Beatson, Patient representative
• Lesley Colvin, Chair of SIGN Guideline Group
• Susan Scott, Patient representative
• Paul Cameron, Pain Specialist Physiotherapist.