300 patients in ‘chronic pain’ (From York Press)

300 patients in ‘chronic pain’

1:12pm Friday 19th October 2007

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THE Press is stepping up its campaign to Let Your Doctor Decide after it was revealed more than 300 patients were left in chronic pain over the last ten months.

That is the impact of North Yorkshire & York Primary Care Trust's (PCT) prior approval panel, which has turned away 90 per cent of patients who would normally have received pain relief injections on the NHS.

Our Let Your Doctor Decide campaign has called on the PCT to scrap the panel.

It has been backed by Dr Peter Hall, the lead clinician for pain management at York Hospital, and today, he re-affirmed his support.

He said: "I feel frustrated that I can't give the service that I want to be able to give.

"My patients are in more pain than they should be and that is not fair.

"I understand the PCT is in a really difficult position, but they have merely stopped the service and we've been left to pick up the pieces."

He said the pain clinic received about 100 new patients every month, of which one-third would normally be given injections.

But since the prior approval panel was set up, only ten per cent of these patients have been accepted - just three every month.

Dr Hall said the PCT wanted to promote the use of a pain management programme called cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), but there were only places for 36 patients a year.

He said: "Even if we did have the resources for more places it wouldn't necessarily help, because CBT is something that will only work if that patient has been prepared for it.

"It's like trying to give up smoking - if you haven't decided that it's the right time for you it won't work."

Linda Hatton, who is a member of the pain management support group, said she was "horrified" by the number of people being turned away.

She said: "What is happening is terrible and I think the whole panel needs to be reviewed urgently.

"If you've never had chronic pain then you will have no idea how it can affect every aspect of your life.

"Before I went on the pain management programme, I had two epidural injections and one facet joint injection and without them I wouldn't have been able to cope.

"Staff on the pain management programme do a wonderful job, but they just can't cope with demand at the moment."

A PCT spokesperson said the decision to suspend injections had been made after concerns were raised about their effectiveness.

She said: "European guidelines for the management of chronic lower back pain did not recommend facet joint or epidural injections.

"The PCT will continue to review any new evidence as well as continue the development of alternative care pathways."

She said new patients were entitled to one facet joint injection before their case was referred to the prior approval panel.

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