Service Information

Referral to Ipswich Hospital pain management

When you are referred to Ipswich Hospital pain management service

Your GP, consultant or the back and neck service will let you know they are referring you to the chronic pain management service. The outcome of this referral will be one of the following:

A clinic appointment

If you are offered a first appointment following your referral being processed, the appointment usually lasts for 30 minutes. You will meet with a pain management consultant or specialist nurse. It is helpful if you can bring with you a list of your current medications, how often you take them, and details of the dosage (the amount you take). The doctor or nurse will ask you questions about your pain, its effects on your life, how you currently manage your pain, and about your lifestyle and current circumstances more generally.

At this appointment, the doctor or nurse will discuss with you the best course of action. They may make changes to your medication, suggest procedures or interventions, or refer you on to see another professional in the team for more support with pain management. They may also refer you to one of our groups. They may ask you to come back for a review after a few months so they can see how you are getting on, and decide with you whether you need any further input, treatment or support.

A community group invitation

From your referral it was thought that attending the first of our groups ‘understanding your pain’ would be beneficial. Research and clinical expertise has shown that self-management of chronic pain is one of the best ways to lessen the impact of pain in your life. This approach is seen as being a significant part in the management of your chronic pain/condition.

You will receive a letter and a leaflet which explains more about the group and how to book to attend.

These sessions are held at a variety of locations in the community but run by staff from the pain management clinic. At the end of this group session options for further support would be outlined.

You have a 2 month period to contact the pain management clinic to arrange to attend, if we do not hear from you we will assume that this is not the right time for you to attend and your referral will be closed.