NHS ‘decommissions’ pain clinic at Louth hospital

The NHS has confirmed that the pain management clinic at Louth hospital has been decommissioned - and that a mobile unit will provide these services from next month.
Louth County Hospital.Louth County Hospital.
Louth County Hospital.

A spokesman for NHS Lincolnshire West Clinical CCG, which commissions the pain service for Lincolnshire, said: “The pain management clinic at Louth was decommissioned along with every other pain clinic across Lincolnshire.

“The CCG has recommissioned the service from April 1st and the new and improved service will be provided by Connect Health.

“The CCG has asked all current providers to continue care for all patients until the end of March 31, and providers have been notified that all patients currently in the pain service will be transferred to Connect Health from April 1.

Patients should also have received a letter explaining this process.

“The new Community Pain Management Service will include a multidisciplinary team of specialists offering a wide range of care options including, but not limited to, clinical psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pain medicines review, pain management programmes and spinal injections.

“Injections will be offered via a mobile unit which will be situated in areas of demand, and we envisage that there will be full multidisciplinary team access in Louth.

“The most appropriate care for individual patients will be informed by clinical need, national guidelines such as the British Pain Society and National Institute of Clinical Excellence, and shared decision making.

“The new service will bring many additional options for people living with pain in addition to, not instead of, those treatments currently available.”