Pain Management Task Force minutes: August 2024

Attendees and apologies

Lynne Nicol (Chair),  Deputy Director SG
Will Wood,  Unit Head Long Term Conditions Policy, SG
Stuart Stephen, National Implementation Lead for Pain Management, SG
Lyn Watson, Pain Nurse Network Lead 
Moira Nelson, Team Leader, SG
Aline Williams, Service Managers Network Lead
Martin Dunbar, Chair of Third Sector Network 
John Anderson, Primary Care Lead, PHS
Stephen Martin, Realistic Medicine Policy SG
David Craig, Pain Psychology Network Lead    
Heather Harrison, Pain Pharmacy Network Lead
Rory Mackenzie, Associate Clinical Director, NHS CFSD
Carol Campbell, Communications Manager, SG
Lived experience members

 

Apologies
Gayle McCann,  Senior Policy Manager, SG
Lars Williams,  Medics Network Lead 
Deborah Steven, Pain Pharmacy Network Lead
Lois Lobban, Senior Policy Manager, Rehabilitation Policy, SG 
Helen Moores-Poole, AHP
 

 

 

Items and actions

Welcome and apologies

Apologies noted above. Helen Mores-Poole will no longer be attending as Allied Health Professional representation. Anne Wallace will be attending future meetings in place. Due to Nicci Motiang, deputy chair of Task Force, moving to different area, Will Wood approved as deputy chair.

Approval of minutes and matters arising

The previous minutes were approved and will be published on the Scottish Government website.

Implementation Progress

Action 5 – lived experience – considering budget available for public awareness work, some scoping work with lived experience and third sector network. Carol reviewing potential actions, create plan for next year based on finance available. An update will be shared with the group.

Action 10 – national standards for chronic pain management – approached HIS and discussion taken place, resource/capacity costs and consideration once we know what HIS can or cannot do. Paper at next TF. Noted that Faculty of Pain Management standards currently being revised.

Action 12 – prescribing – Work being carried out by Effective Prescribing Team at SG via Short Life Working Group (SLWG) which met for third time this week, lot of multi-disciplinary representation on this group. Considerations of what should be in the guide going forward, good constructive discussion and the scope of the group has been widened.

Action 18 – research priorities – Scoping conversations held with James Lind Alliance, CSO, NRS, NIHR and third sector. Paper brought to last meeting. Update on scoping conversations at next meeting.

Data group – things quiet currently as new data collection tool being tested.

Third sector network – collating of resources to go on knowledge hub. Call for ideas of public awareness, disappointed in short timeline, would have liked to work on something collaboratively. 

Service Managers network – good representation from health boards with positive feedback received. Network currently collecting data on chronic pain services in each health board. Reaching out between meetings, fostering once for Scotland approach. Next meeting September.

Education group - Evaluation forms being sent out to those undertaken training to understand what will be put in practice from training. Feedback on skilled practice module (level 2) to find out if gaps. Evaluation takes place at end of this month, live at end of September. Comms round launch of toolkit  to be issued to health and social care, want to ensure toolkit is out there and embedded in inductions and it’s not forgotten about after initial launch

Scottish Health Technologies review on specialist interventions – SHT suggested that SIGN would be better placed to take this review forward as part of SIGN guideline update. TF to note risk of moving forward, agreed it was not for SIGN to take on as not robustness of evidence. Response from SG to SHT ready to be issued. Picked up with director for evidence. 

SLWG A – due to meet next week. Scoping on best practice framework on lived experience engagement. There was an ask to the Task Force to consider that information and resources will be an ongoing process but as is SLWG what is the expectation of the group, it was agreed that the group in some form would be required. SLWG drawn to a close and a new group takes over. More formal and visible. Understand group and scope including its ability to bring on required expertise as and when required and decision needed on how this will fit in with overall governance moving forward.

National workforce solutions – survey sent to clinicians across Scotland. 46 responses on views of core services. Presentation at next workforce SLWG meeting. Finalise membership, tor and chair next week, all disciplines covered and lived experience representation. SLWG should have commenced by next TF meeting.

Implementation Plan Risk Register

The residual risks discussed were: 
SIGN guidelines- Further discussion to be held about finance and timeline for development.

Research JLA – lack of resource both finance and staffing to progress that. A Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) through JLA would require 18 month commitment to lead on this.

Credentialling. Further discussions to be held to look at this work with NES – it may be that for modules 3 and 4 it may be more appropriate to look at accreditation.

Scottish National Pain Management Programme

Ministerial visit to the service on 22 August.

Raised that next cohort due to start in September had been postponed due to staffing shortage with psychology. 

Finance and commissioning

Financial situation very challenging at present and expectation that savings exercise imminent likely impacting non-committed spend. Full update provided to Task Force once situation known.

Funding has been approved to support work on SIGN update.

Communications – update on newsletter and webpage

Following review of current communications and feedback from stakeholders, decision made to stop newsletter for now as its purpose is not entirely clear to recipients. Working with comms lead to review and develop communication strategy. Minutes of Task Force continue to be updated to webpage.

Any other competent business 

Ask to consider how we raise patient confidence with the work ongoing – especially action 13 and interventions. Useful to quantify the variations across Scotland – who is benefitting and how to best deliver interventions.
Noted it was David Craig’s last meeting. Thanks were given for his contribution to date.