Pain management services
Download (PDF 1.02 MB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Shropshire worked with the local MSK Transformation Alliance to assess the views of patients using the Pain Management Services provided by Connect Health. They heard from 34 people.
Less than one in five rated the service as good or excellent. Experiences of face-to-face appointments were good with 15 people saying that clinics were either easy or very easy to get to.
Waiting times did not seem to be adversely affected by the pandemic and on average people were waiting less time due to telephone appointments.
Three people mentioned a lack of follow up and needing to be re-referred to the Pain Management Service more than once. Some had experienced chronic pain but had not been told about the Pain Management Service or referred to it.
People who had been told what to expect from the service and who had rated the information received in advance as good or excellent were more likely to rate the service overall as good or excellent and to have a better understanding of their treatment options, aims, lifestyles changes they could make and improvements they could expect.
The report contains three recommendations about information before treatment, how the referrals procedure could be improved and awareness raising.