Dr John Hughes
Dean of the Faculty of Pain Medicine
Dr Lorraine de Gray
Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists
There is a significant and much needed requirement for training pain specialists doctors and upskilling non-specialist doctors to ensure pain services are available in the community.
Pain management is the responsibility of healthcare providers. The UK has a significant shortage of doctors trained as pain medicine specialists, with less than one specialist per 100,000 people.
The Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) of the Royal College of Anaesthetists is responsible for the training, assessment, practice and continuing professional development of specialist pain doctors in the UK.
Currently, most UK pain medicine specialists are anaesthetists. Recruitment from anaesthesia alone is not expected to meet the predicted workforce shortage in the next 20 years; anaesthetists also work in anaesthesia, perioperative and intensive care medicine.
Communication and empathetic consultation skills are the cornerstone of effective pain assessment, ensuring the biological, psychological and social aspects of pain are identified and managed. Pain doctors work in multidisciplinary teams including nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, clinical health psychologists and pharmacists to help patients manage and live with their long-term pain condition.
The UK has a significant shortage of doctors trained as pain medicine specialists, with less than one specialist per 100,000 people.
Creating credentials for pain management
Together with the General Medical Council, we are at an advanced stage of developing credentialing for pain medicine specialists – the paramount reason is patient safety, clearly identifying doctors trained in the holistic practice of pain medicine. It is planned to facilitate doctors from other specialties training as pain medicine specialists.
We are also in discussions with Health Education England and NHS Education Scotland to develop a Credential for Advanced Health Care Practitioners in Pain Management. This will expand the workforce to deliver multidisciplinary community-based pain services, addressing patients’ needs at an earlier point in time, improving triage, access, appropriate communication, referral and integration with specialist pain services, with better and more cost-effective outcomes for the NHS and society at large.
The FPM is developing a patient focused Four Nation Pain Strategy to provide an overarching framework to deliver improved pain management across the whole healthcare sector including support to live well with pain. The aim is an integrated national, regional and local delivery system ensuring equality of gold-standard care for all, wherever they live.
