Urgent action is needed to improve care of patients with chronic pain, says report

Access to effective pain management is a “fundamental right” that is often denied because of poor services and a lack of clear standards, a new report has warned.1

The report criticises the lack of clear guidelines and patchy services for the management of chronic pain in England. The result of the first English pain summit held in London in November 2011, the report is a collaboration between the Royal College of General Practitioners, the professionals’ organisation the British Pain Society, the Chronic Pain Policy Coalition, and the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. The Chronic Pain Policy Coalition receives funding from a number of drug companies, including Astellas, Grünenthal, Napp, Pfizer, and  Sanofi Pasteur MSD.

Beverly Collett, chairwoman of the coalition and a consultant in pain management and anaesthesia at Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS …