Acute Pain Service

The Acute Pain Service introduces, maintains, and monitors modern methods of acute pain management for our inpatient wards. We aim to reduce pain to a level acceptable for each individual patient who requires the input of the Acute Pain Management Team. This may or may not always be fully possible. However, we strive to promote comfort rather than complete pain relief.

The Acute Pain Management Team consists of a specialist nurse, anaesthetic registrar, consultant anaesthetist and support from a surgical pharmacist.  Our primary methods of pain relief are:

  • Patient controlled analgesia (PCA)
  • Epidural analgesia
  • Wound infiltration (pain-buster)

Our Acute Pain Nurse makes daily ward rounds to see all patients with epidural infusions, pain-busters and PCA patients.

The Acute Pain Management Team undertakes a weekly ward round, during which we assess, evaluate, treat and audit pain management. We make full and accurate notes to ensure that the treatment plan is implemented.

Education

Education is a major part of the Acute Pain Team’s role. During our daily ward rounds, we educate patients on their prescribed analgesia and explain how to gain full benefit from the pain relief.

We also provide teaching to ward staff on a regular basis, on topics including epidural management, management of acute pain and input on surgical nurses study days.

Opening hours

Our working hours are:

Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm

Outside these hours, the service is covered by the on-call anaesthetist.

Referral

We receive referrals via the bleep system, telephone calls or verbal referrals as part of the daily ward rounds.

Key staff

Clinical Nurse Specialist in Acute Pain: Heather Lain
Consultant Anaesthetist: Dr Mark Simenacz

Useful links

  • British Pain Society – The British Pain Society is the largest multidisciplinary professional organisation in the field of pain in the UK. Its membership comprises medical pain specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, general practitioners, occupational therapists and other healthcare professionals actively engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of pain and in pain research for the benefit of patients.
  • The Royal College of Anaesthetists – The Royal College of Anaesthetists is the professional body responsible for the specialty throughout the UK, and it ensures the quality of patient care through the maintenance of standards in anaesthesia, critical care and pain medicine.
  • The Faculty of Pain Medicine –  The Faculty of Pain Medicine and the Royal College of Anaesthetists have recently produced a new resource for all prescribers, patients and their carers to support safe and rational use of opioid medicines. The resource is available here.