A nurse-led pain management programme, which was run throughout Leinster last year, has proven to be very successful.

According to the results of the programme, which have just been released, there was a 21% reduction in the proportion of patients experiencing moderate to severe pain, and a 60% reduction in the proportion waking up three to four times every night as a result of their pain.

There was also a 6% reduction in the proportion of patients who missed work due to pain.

The programme was developed to support GPs and practice nurses who were managing people with persistent (chronic) pain - that is pain that has lasted at least three months.

Patients taking part were invited to attend a 30-minutes face-to-face pain management review clinic or assessment with a registered nurse. The nurse provided support and education with the aim of achieving better patient outcomes and more effective pain control. The nurse also determined if the patient needed follow-up with their GP.

The results from the initial clinic showed that 44% of those taking part required further intervention, 41% had poorly controlled or uncontrolled pain in the last seven days, while 38% were not adhering to their pain medication.

The patients were re-assessed after six weeks and those who were still experiencing uncontrolled pain were referred back to their GP.

According to Dr Rukshan Goonewardena, a GP at the Ballyjamesduff Family Practice in Cavan, pain can be difficult to assess and manage as there may be many factors at play and it can affect people in a variety of ways.

"A large number of patients in my practice have been diagnosed with persistent or chronic pain. This programme showed improvements in pain scores, the proportion of patients with poorly controlled pain and the number of work days missed due to pain.

"For me, it clearly demonstrates the impact advice and education can have on this patient group in a real-world setting. I highly recommend this programme to GPs and practice nurses to improve pain control and quality of life in patients," he said.

Meanwhile, according to advanced nurse practitioner in pain management, Joanne O'Brien, the programme shows 'how effective pain management can be achieved through nurse-led assessments with support from GPs'.

"Providing pain education and support, improving sleep and improving access to a pain management plan are crucial to helping patients move out of the persistent pain cycle. Practice nurses could take on this task and liaise with the GP as needed to better manage these patients and ensure they adhere to a pain management plan set out for them," she explained.

The results of the programme were released as part of the ‘mypainfeelslike' campaign, a national campaign which aims to raise awareness of pain and support patients when they are communicating with health professionals.

The campaign is a collaboration between Grünenthal Pharma Limited and Chronic Pain Ireland, and is supported by Multiple Sclerosis Ireland and the Parkinson's Association of Ireland. For more information, click here