New hope for back pain sufferers in York (From York Press)

New hope for back pain sufferers in York

8:08am Tuesday 4th May 2010 in

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BACK pain sufferers in York who want to see the return of routine pain relief injections say they have had a “fruitful” meeting with health bosses.

The York Pain Management Support Group is involved in a row with NHS North Yorkshire and York after the authority stopped routine injections for sufferers of chronic back pain, saying alternative treatments should be explored.

Representatives of the support group met last week with the chief of the trust, Jayne Brown.

Gordon Hart, of the support group, said after the meeting: “It was agreed that the 130 patients who had been receiving pain relieving spinal injections should have a clinical review to determine their situation and to recommend future therapy.”

Although this may not lead to the automatic resumption of pain relief injections on the NHS, Mr Hart said it was agreed that where it was found necessary, patients from among this group should be referred to an individual funding and exception panel to determine future therapy.

Dr David Geddes, medical director at NHS North Yorkshire and York, said: “We welcomed the opportunity to discuss our commissioning policy on facet joint injections with representatives from the support group. “We’re pleased that this has brought more clarity on how we are implementing national clinical guidance and therefore what patients can expect locally.”

The two sides are expected to meet again on June 7 for further discussions.

The trust chose not to routinely fund spinal injections last November, saying it must focus on buying services giving the best possible clinical outcomes to ensure value for money.

It has insisted the procedures are not being stopped, with clinicians who feel a patient would benefit from the treatment being able to ask the funding request panel to consider individual cases, and that the move is not a cost-cutting exercise.