Absence of Pain Clinic leaves woman in 'daily agony'

Sarah Saunderson • Published 25 Feb 2010 10:26 Comments 1 Comment

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A 66-year-old Enniskillen widow is living in "agony" after a Pain Clinic run at the Erne Hospital closed its doors the year before last.

Mrs. Dorothy Abram has suffered agonising back pain since being involved in a car accident in 2003.

Prior to his retirement in 2008, Mrs. Abram had attended a Pain Clinic run by Dr. William Holmes in which she would have been treated with an epidural and other injections that would have given her up to nine weeks' pain relief.

However, the last injection she received was almost a year ago at Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast. She now describes her daily life as "agony".

The Western Health and Social Care Trust, which runs pain management services here, says it intends to run a pain management outpatient clinic in the Erne but recruitment of a specialist in this area is a problem. The Trust has been so far unsuccessful in recruiting anaesthetists with an interest in pain management in spite of advertising such posts twice.

Mrs. Abram suffers from four bulging discs in her back, together with arthritis, a narrowing of the base of the back and pain in her legs due to a disc resting on her sciatic nerve. Suffering from osteo-arthritis in her hand, she is unable to carry a stick.

She is on a range of painkillers including a morphine patch to ease the pain. Mrs. Abram received no letter or official notication that the Enniskillen Pain Management Clinic was closing back in 2008.

There is no current Pain Management Clinic in Fermanagh and she has been told it will not be until the summer that one is opened. She has also been told that she will no longer be given injections to ease her pain.

"I would have been going to Willie Holmes for the last seven years. He was the anaesthetist who ran the Pain Clinic. He was a terrific man. When he gave it up, there was no replacement. I was the referred to Musgrave Park but I am a widow, and I was meant to be there for 8 in the morning and stay there until 4.30pm where I would get an epidural into my back. There is no way I can get up there for 8am, You have to have someone to bring you and stay two nights with you afterwards. Then I asked could I be referred to Omagh Pain Clinic which I did. Dr. Frances Robinson [consultant anaesthetist] examined me and said I would need an injection in my facet joints which are between the discs".

"I got a letter to go up to the Erne Hospital one morning to talk about the pain management and there were quite a lot there, about 40 people. We were told that as soon as they could get some place to run the Pain Management Clinic it would be started up in Enniskillen. When I asked when I was going to have an appointment for my injection because my back is pretty bad, I was told they had decided they are not going to give injections. I said I was very shocked about that as a doctor in Musgrave was willing to give one to me," she said.

She said she was told that the doctor would not be giving injections "willy nilly".

She had heard it may be June or July before a Pain Clinic resumes in Enniskillen. "There is no way I can stick that until then. I am getting pretty desperate and there is no sign of anybody being appointed," she said.

Another patient she has been in contact with has been referred to Coleraine.

Prior to Dr. Holmes' retirement, Mrs. Abram had attended the Erne Pain Clinic every three months.

She says she has been told the problem with resuming the Clinic is that there is nowhere to accommodate it. It used to be held in a theatre in the old Medical Ward at the Erne which was also used for endoscopies.

"I am on an awful lot of medication. It makes you so groggy, you do not know whether you have taken the tablets or not. The tablets make your mouth so dry you have to be up drinking water at night and my short term memory is desperate. I can go up town and come back without half the things I need".

"I am so frustrated. I do not know where to go," she said.

A spokesperson from the Western Health and Social Care Trust said that a comprehensive range of chronic pain management services is provided by the Trust. This range of services includes outpatient clinics at Tyrone County and Altnagelvin Hospitals, interventions for pain relief at both these hospitals and a pain management programme at Tyrone County.

"Following the retirement of a consultant in the Erne Hospital, the Trust made best use of existing resources to establish additional pain clinics and intervention sessions on the Tyrone County Hospital site. These offered a more comprehensive range of services and access to additional specialist equipment.

"The Western Trust has been developing a model for pain management services across the Trust centred on the Tyrone County Hospital site with linked activity in the Erne and Altnagelvin Hospitals. Within this model it is the Trust's intention to have pain management outpatient clinics at the Erne Hospital. This development has been limited due to the difficulty of recruiting medical staff with expertise in pain management.

"The Trust has already advertised on two occasions in an attempt to recruit anaesthetists with an interest in pain management. Unfortunately these efforts have been unsuccessful. The Trust will continue its efforts to recruit suitably trained specialists however difficulties are anticipated as a shortage of specialists in this area are projected for some time to come.

"The majority of patients who had been attending the pain clinic at the Erne have been re-referred by their GP to the pain management services in Tyrone County Hospital. Outpatients referred to this service are being seen within a maximum waiting period of nine weeks which is in accordance with DHSSPS guidance for access to such a service."

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 25 Feb 10

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Mar 1, 23:00
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Louise
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May 13, 17:12
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I have been on the waiting list at Musgrave Park Hospital for facet joint injections. I had previously received the injections privately but my funding has now run out. I too am in alot of pain and on heavy painkillers daily. I have been off work since January whilst I await the injections. I phoned Musgrave today to find out if they had any idea how long I still have to wait, and was told August, as the lists are 6 months long. I then asked to speak to my consultant's secretary and was told that he has broken his shoulder, that no one knows how long he will be off for, and that no one else has taken over his cases. I find this very frustrating, and cannot afford to be off work for much longer. Does anyone know of anyone else who can administer these injections? I don't care how far away.

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