Chronic pain strategy could stop thousands of lost work days

THE DEVELOPMENT of a national strategy on chronic pain could prevent thousands of lost work days and save the Government millions in welfare payments, a conference on the condition will hear this week.

Research on chronic pain has found that 13 per cent of Irish people suffer from the condition and that low back pain, a common form of chronic pain, costs the Department of Social and Family Affairs some €350 million in disability payments each year.

Chronic pain is defined as a type of pain experienced on a daily basis that persists for longer than six months.

Neck pain, whiplash, nerve pain and lower back pain are all commonly occurring forms of the condition.

Dr Camillus Power, a pain specialist at Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, believes that creating a greater awareness of chronic pain could lead to better understanding and treatment of the condition.

“I think a lot more emphasis is put on cardiovascular disease and cancer than on chronic pain because it doesn’t have a high mortality rate,” he said.

“Hopefully by putting the information out there people will realise that there are pain clinics at major centres available to them, they can seek medication to treat the problem or be put in touch with somebody who is involved in a rehabilitation programme.”

Dr Power said there were only two public sector pain centres where treatment was available, at Tallaght Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, and that treatment of the condition needed readdressing at regional healthcare centres.

He was involved in the research paper The need for a national strategy for chronic pain management in Ireland. The research concluded that a national strategy was needed to reduce costs, standardise teaching and increase pain clinic resources to maximise patient care.

Dr Power said the number of hours timetabled for pain education in schools of medicine, physiotherapy, nursing and psychology in Irish universities should be increased in order to create a better capability to treat the condition.

“An Irish Pain Society survey found that, with a few exceptions, there is very little specific teaching on pain management given, even though it affects a lot of people across many disciplines.

“No matter what area you work in you will come across chronic pain. The International Association for the Study of Pain has a curriculum that could be offered to universities which could be given a little more attention within our teaching structures.”

He said chronic pain incurred significant financial costs for both employers and the Government, with patients missing an average of 17 working days a year and 15 per cent of those with the condition giving up their jobs permanently.

“There needs to be more joined-up thinking between health and social policy to get people back to work more quickly. There should be a specific rehabilitation programme, which would save money and time for patients and employers.”

Dr Power is to address Pain in the 21st Century, the first international conference on pain to be held in Ireland, later this week.

The conference takes place in Dublin Castle on Saturday and Sunday and will bring together world experts on pain and pain management to share in the most up-to-date research on the condition.

* More information on the conference is available from M+C Events on 01-6650300.