Dr. Foster Health marks first birthday with pain clinic audit tie-up with British pain society and healthcare quality improvement partnership

November 20, 2009 - Since its inception on November 18 2008, Dr Foster Health has been working on the behalf of the British public to keep an eye on service standards at NHS Hospitals.

Now one year old, Dr Foster Health is proud to announce the involvement of Dr Foster Research in the first ever Pain Clinic Audit which will assess the quality and accessibility of pain clinic services across Britain.

Dr Foster Health will be following the progress of the Audit and will add an information hub on Pain to the Medical Dictionary, as well as other exclusive content about pain services in Britain from clinical experts.


New audit aims to improve pain services in the UK

Dr Foster Research and the British Pain Society have joined forces to carry out the first ever comprehensive audit of NHS clinical pain management services to benchmark quality and level of service provision.

The Audit was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) which is led by a consortium of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the Royal College of Nursing and National Voices. HQIP promotes better health services by supporting quality improvement activities.


Nation Pain Audit objectives:

· Identify all providers of pain management services at all levels of care; from GPs and physiotherapists to hospital-based consultants

· Develop and deliver a pilot stage in early 2010

· Roll out an online data collection tool to primary and secondary care providers in late 2010

· Agree national standards on pain management and identify best-practice

· Reveal gaps in service provision and improve the quality of patient care

Information for clinicians:

The success of the National Pain Audit depends on the expertise and enthusiasm of medical staff working in the Pain Management specialty. If clinicians are interested in becoming a pilot site for the first stage of the audit and would like more information on the autumn 2010 launch email painaudit@drfoster.co.uk.

Find out more about the National Pain Audit (PDF).


Information for editors:

Pain in the UK Facts & Figures (1):


· People living with chronic pain: 7.8 million

· Cost of adolescent pain: £3.8 billion

· Money spent on prescriptions for pain: £584 million

· Women suffering with chronic pelvic pain: one million

· Adults suffering with chronic back pain per year: 1.6 million

· Patients with chronic pain experiencing depression: 49%

· Pain sufferers who lose their jobs: 25%

· Pain sufferers who feel their pain is so bad that they sometimes want to die: 16%

· One pain specialist for 32,000 people suffering from chronic pain

Reference:

1) CMO 2008 Annual Report
Chapter: Pain: Breaking through the Barrier
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/News/Media/DH_096271

Notes to editors:

1) Dr Foster Health is the leading innovator in benchmarking public services and communicating information about these services to the public. Dr Foster Health produces authoritative and independent guides to health services in public and private healthcare. Dr Foster Health's aim is not only to inform, but also to act as a catalyst for change.

2) The British Pain Society is the largest multidisciplinary professional organisation in the field of pain within the UK. Its membership comprises medical pain specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, scientists, psychologists, occupational therapists and other healthcare professionals actively engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of pain and in pain research for the benefit of patients.

3) The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) promotes quality in healthcare, and in particular to increase the impact that clinical audit has on healthcare quality in England and Wales. It is led by a consortium of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the Royal College of Nursing and National Voices (formerly the Long-term Conditions Alliance).