Acute pain service makes a difference to patients
Published on 31/01/2025
A new acute pain service has gone from strength to strength in its first six months at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB).
The service was launched last summer with the aim of enhancing inpatient recovery through better management of acute pain. In its first six months, it has helped 2,416 patients.
The service has made great progress in making the recovery process smoother for patients, and is playing a key part in the safe and timely discharge of patients. The success of the launch of the new service earned the acute pain team a UHB Kind, Connected and Bold Award.
The leadership team was praised for working extremely hard to make sure the pathways and training needs of the service were in place for the launch. Acute pain, which is temporary and often caused by injury or surgery, can significantly impact patient recovery when not adequately controlled. Effective post-surgery pain management is vital for promoting a smoother recovery process.
The new service is providing essential guidance to ward teams on managing patient pain, and ensuring the safety of advanced pain-relieving techniques and devices.
Maria Few, Pain Management Lead Nurse, said: “In its first six months the new acute pain service has really made a difference to patients. We are now looking to improve things further with the launch of pain champions in all areas.”
Champions are commonly used to support many areas of specialist nursing practice, including pain management. They are the first point of contact for advice and signposting, and play a major role in effective pain management, helping achieve safe, effective, person-centred care within their team.
The acute pain champion role would include extra training that could be cascaded to colleagues to help improve knowledge around acute pain, pain devices and safety.
For further information please email Hannah Phillips, Acute Pain Clinical Nurse Specialist.
