PAIN MANAGEMENT - THE BASICS
What is pain?
In general terms, pain can be defined as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage". However, there are three major causes of pain: Acute, resulting from a trauma, injury or intervention; Cancer-related, arising from the effects of cancer; and chronic non-cancer related arising for example from conditions such as endometriosis or back pain.
How is 'pain' dealt with?
Sufferers of pain and their associated bodies, professional groups such as the Pain Society, independent groups such as Dr Foster, and Government bodies such as
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the Clinical Services Advisory Group (CSAG) have indicated that the quality of provision of pain services varies widely across the country. Pain seems to be viewed by Government as a condition too broad to be treated in a unified manner. Furthermore, pain services are commissioned locally at PCT level with little central guidance on best practice or collaborative commissioning.
What is the issue with pain?
As a result, pain as a problem is not treated effectively. The costs of this are threefold - costs to the individual in terms of quality of life, cost to the NHS in terms of protracted care cost, and cost to the Exchequer resulting from support payments paid to sufferers.
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