National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain

Overview

The National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain was set up in 2017, following the winding up of the National Chronic Pain Improvement Group (NCPIG) in 2016.  

In 2020 the Programme for Government set out commitments to

• publish a Recovery Framework for Pain Management Services
• review the format and remit of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain
• develop the current Scottish Service Model for Chronic Pain and to publish a new Framework for Chronic Pain Service Delivery in 2021

The refreshed NACCP met on 2 February 2021 and the role and remit is to work collaboratively to: 

• advise the Scottish Government on chronic pain to inform effective national policy and service improvement, taking into account available data on service provision, outcomes, and harmful variation
• guide the improvement of chronic pain management at all levels of health and social care, including the delivery of the Scottish Government’s commitments in the Programme for Government, the recommendations of the Scottish Access Collaborative report on Chronic Pain and the ongoing remobilisation and rebuilding of pain management services during and following the COVID-19 pandemic
• to raise and maintain the profile of chronic pain with the public, NHS and Local Authority senior leadership, and other relevant Scottish Government stakeholders and 
• to oversee pain management content on NHS Inform

Members

Membership as at January 2021 (alphabetical): 

• Chair: Dr John Harden, Deputy National Clinical Director, Scottish Government 
• Dr Rona Agnew, Friends of the CIC
• Dr Rachel Atherton, Scottish National Residential Pain Management Programme 
• Liz Barrie (Patient Reference Group representative) 
• Dr Grecy Bell, Medical Director, Dumfries and Galloway (Scottish Association of Medical Directors rep) 
• Chris Bridgeford, Affa Sair (3rd sector rep)
• Paul Cameron, CMO Speciality Adviser for Chronic Pain, Clinical Lead NHS Fife Pain Management Service 
• Prof Lesley Colvin, Professor at University of Dundee (Consultant Anaesthetist/ NHS Tayside) 
• Sonia Cottom, Director, Pain Association Scotland (3rd sector rep)
• Dr Martin Dunbar, Pain Concern (3rd sector rep)
• Angela Donaldson-Bruce, Versus Arthritis (3rd sector rep) 
• Marianne Hayward, Head of Health and Social Care, NHS Lanarkshire (Chief Officers’ rep) 
• Catherine Hughes (Patient Reference Group representative) 
• Jacqueline Mardon, NHS Centre for Integrative Care, NHS GGC 
• Irene Oldfather, Programme Director, the Health and Social Care Alliance (3rd sector rep) 
• Hussein Patwa (Patient Reference Group representative)
• Nicola Rhind, Lead Clinician for Chronic Pain
• Professor Blair Smith, CMO Speciality Adviser for Chronic Pain, NHS Tayside 
• Heather Wallace, Pain Concern (3rd sector rep) 
• Aline Williams, Service Manager, NHS GGC Pain Service (Service Manager rep) 
• MPPP Chronic Pain Service Lead Network representative(s)

SG representatives:

• Carolyn Chalmers, Improvement Adviser, Modernising Patient Pathway Programme 
• Kieran Dinwoodie, MPPP GP Advisor 
• James O’Malley, Scottish Government Policy Lead, Chronic Pain 
• Secretariat, Clinical Priorities Unit 

Publications

National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain: terms of reference