Thanks to a Big Lottery Fund grant of £8,023, Pain Concern’s Airing Pain radio show will produce four shows based in Northern Ireland. The Airing Pain team will visit pain services across the province, including pain management programmes in rural and urban areas, to hear from pain specialists and local people living with pain. The shows will especially focus on informing people in Northern Ireland of the support that is available to them and on empowering them to make use of these services.

Pain services are thinly spread throughout Northern Ireland, yet with 339,910 adults reported to live with chronic pain (19% of the population) it has the highest proportion of people living with pain in the whole of the UK. The number of patients admitted to hospital for pain management in Northern Ireland has nearly trebled within the last twelve years, further underlining the urgent need for information and support focusing on local issues and provision.

Dr Pamela Bell, chair of the Pain Alliance of Northern Ireland, said ‘I am delighted that Pain Concern have obtained funding for this series of shows.’ She explained the important contribution the shows can make, saying: ‘Those who suffer chronic pain often feel isolated, but radio helps them to feel connected to others in their community and to develop an understanding of their local pain services.’