145: Rethinking Pain: Pain Management in the Community

Airing Pain

Airing Pain 145 Rethinking Pain: Pain Management in the Community
This edition of Airing Pain centres on rethinking the traditional clinician-patient relationship in pain management and exploring alternative approaches to bringing pain management back into the community.

Dr Barbara Phipps, GP and Lifestyle Medicine expert, discusses the development and benefits of group consultations for pain management.

Dr Jackie Walumbe sheds light on the pervasive inequalities in chronic pain services, highlighting the value of communities and member-led collaboratives in building and shaping self-management.

Prof. Mark Johnson, Dr Kate Thompson, and Kerry Page talk through the benefits of de-medicalising pain management, shifting the focus to a community setting.

We hear about the fantastic work of Rethinking Pain, a community-based pain support service in Bradford and Craven, and the inspiration this can serve for future chronic pain services and self-management initiatives.

The interviews were recorded at the British Pain Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting, 2024.

Contributors:
Dr Barbara Phipps, Practising NHS GP and Teaching Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, currently running a community based Chronic Pain management service within the NHS. Barbara has a special interest in Lifestyle Medicine, and is a trustee of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

Dr Jackie Walumbe, Clinical Academic Advance Practice Physiotherapist in the Complex Pain Team at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Research Fellow at University of Oxford.

Professor Mark Johnson, Professor of Pain and Analgesia and Director of the Leeds Beckett Pain Team (Centre for Pain Research) at Leeds Beckett University.

Dr Kate Thompson, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Leeds Beckett University, with a background in physiotherapy and special interest in pain research.

Kerry Page, Programme Lead for Rethinking Pain, the chronic pain community service based in Bradford District and Craven.

Time Stamps:
01:58 Paul introduces Dr Barbara Phipps, Practising NHS GP and Teaching Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, currently running a community based Chronic Pain management service within the NHS. Barbara has a special interest in Lifestyle Medicine, is and is a trustee of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

02:27 Dr Barbara Phipps discusses the development of group consultations for people with long-term primary pain.

07:28 Paul and Barbara discuss the importance of people being believed about their pain, perception of pain experiences, and detection on functional MRI scans.

10:41 Paul draws upon issues the funding in pain management services and who decides whether a treatment programme is value for money or not.

10:53 Paul introduces Dr Jackie Walumbe, Clinical Academic Advance Practice Physiotherapist in the Complex Pain Team at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Research Fellow at University of Oxford.

11:04 Dr Jackie Walumbe discusses her research on understanding how the term and practice of Self-Management is understood and acted on by people living with chronic pain, particularly those who don’t have ongoing contact or access with specialist pain services, and the relationship between this and policy makers’ decisions.

14:42 Paul and Jackie discuss key findings regarding issues of inequality, and a report by Versus Arthritis (Unseen, Unequal and Unfair: Chronic Pain in England), reflecting issues of policy and politics and the importance of other communities in filling the gaps.

18:09 Paul introduces Rethinking Pain, a community-based service for adults living with long-term pain, in Bradford District and Craven.

18:28 Paul introduces Dr Mark Johnson, Professor of Pain and Analgesia and Director of the Leeds Beckett Pain Team (Centre for Pain Research) at Leeds Beckett University.

18:37 Paul introduces Dr Kate Thompson, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Leeds Beckett University, with a background in physiotherapy and special interest in pain research.

18:40 Paul introduces Kerry Page, Programme Lead for Rethinking Pain, the chronic pain community service based in Bradford District and Craven.

18:47 Kerry Page discusses the Rethinking Pain service, its background, services, and success.

19:57 Dr Kate Thompson explains how Rethinking Pain’s approach differs from other community pain management programmes

20:58 Dr Mark Johnson talks about how pain is a context driven experience, and the importance of understanding how the narrative matters when it comes to managing pain.

25:49 Kerry Page recalls the importance of giving time to listen to the pain community and those living with chronic pain, and the way that Rethinking Pain’s initiative provides this through Health Coaches.

35:53 Kerry page discusses how pain management services can help to reach more people and connect people and organisations from across the pain community.

Additional Resources:
Rethinking Pain
Inequalities in Chronic Pain Report - Versus Arthritis

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