Pain Management Panel - engagement: phase 2 report

Ministerial Foreword

Jenni Minto MSP, Minister for Public Health and Women's Health:

"I welcome this report which presents the findings from the second phase of engagement with the Pain Management Panel, which is made up of a diverse sample of people with lived experience of chronic pain across Scotland. The report has been commissioned by the Scottish Government and delivered by an independent provider. It offers an insight on the information and resource needs for people living with chronic pain, as well as the opportunities to improve their experience of care and services. This builds on the previous work of the Pain Management Panel which explored some of the challenges faced by people with chronic pain.

"This report reaffirms the vital role of online information for people living with chronic pain as a key element of their care and support, sitting alongside GPs and primary care services. The main focus of this report is to present views on the current information services for people with chronic pain provided through the NHS Inform website and the NHS self-help guide in order to enhance these to better meet people's needs.

"The report sets out positive examples of support and services people have experienced, as well as their expectations for what information services for chronic pain should look like. The feedback in this report is valuable and assists us to improve our resources for people with chronic pain.

"The Scottish Government remains committed to improving information services in our ambition to improve the quality of life and wellbeing for people with chronic pain. Involving people with lived experience remains a priority to help inform the improvement work we have set out in our Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery – Implementation Plan. The Pain Management Panel has been a crucial part of this, but we recognise that this is not exhaustive and we will continue to engage with a range of diverse voices of those living with chronic pain across Scotland as we continue to develop and deliver the Framework.

"We will continue to work to ensure everyone with chronic pain has better access to the right information, at the right time, to engage the support and services they need."