Medical Team.

The Medical component of the pain centre consists of 6 consultants, experienced in the treatment of acute, chronic and perioperative pain.

They work closely with the nursing, physiotherapy and clinical psychology teams.

The medical team roles include:-

• Acute pain ward rounds – assessing and treating pain experienced by inpatients within the hospital.

These patients may be suffering from pain postoperatively, or have other complex medical or surgical issues contributing to chronic pain.

• Outpatient clinics – the assessment of a variety of medical conditions related to chronic pain.

As part of this process interventions may be offered as well as the beginning of the rehabilitation pathway working closely with the physiotherapy and clinical psychology teams.

Medication management is also integral to medical assessment.

• Medical Procedures and Interventions.
• Medical support to  Pain Management Programs.
• Teaching  - The pain centre is a vibrant learning environment supporting the development of a variety of trainees, including various levels of pain, anaesthetic and palliative care junior doctors.

Curriculum development for undergraduates has also been a recent focus of our efforts.

• Research – The pain centre is actively involved in research collaborating with the Human Pain Research Group at Salford Royal in

understanding the complex neurobiological changes which occur in chronic pain as well as in Spinal Cord Stimulation. 

• Major Trauma – The medical team also support the assessment and treatment of major trauma and the inpatient rib fracture treatment

service Nursing Team

• The pain specialist nursing team, led by a nurse consultant provide an in-patient service for acute pain, post-operative and trauma pain 7 days a week. 
  Our vision is to foster a “Patient centred partnership” with patients and their carers/families, which leads to an effective, efficient, personal, inclusive and quality driven pain management service. 

Physiotherapy Team

There are four whole-time equivalent Physiotherapists based within the Pain Centre.  

Patients may see a Physiotherapist at their initial assessment as Physiotherapists lead new patient assessment clinics individually and alongside Medical and Nursing Consultants.  

If it is thought a patient may benefit from pain management Physiotherapy or a Pain Management Programme they may go on to attend further appointments with one of the Physiotherapy team.

Physiotherapists within the Pain Centre help people with chronic pain develop self-management skills through a combination of graded exercise/activity, education and advice on strategies such as activity management, goal setting and flare-up planning.  

Overall, they aim to help patients optimise their physical function and quality of life despite ongoing pain.

The Physiotherapists also work closely with the Clinical Psychology Team, providing joint treatment sessions and delivering the Pain

Management Programmes.

Clinical Psychology Team

The clinical psychology team consists of 2 Consultant Clinical psychologists and 3 specialist pain psychologists.

The psychologists are experts in helping patients manage their pain.

They help patients to understand chronic pain, and deal with the knock on consequences of chronic pain, such as poor sleep, memory impairment, poor relations with other people, lack of confidence, fear of movement and worries about the future.

The Psychology team provide the Introduction to Managing Pain sessions and are fundamental in delivering Pain Management Programmes

along with the Physiotherapists and Medical Doctors.