The New South Wales Government has announced a ‘ground breaking’ strategy designed to overhaul pain management services across the state.

 

State Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner, announced the NSW Pain Management Plan, which will deliver an additional $26 million over the next four years to support the development of new pain  management services in regional areas, to enhance existing teaching hospital services and to support research into chronic pain.

 

“The investment and additional funding will improve services across NSW and provide support in regional areas where previously there has been no access to treatment,” Mrs Skinner said.

 

“Chronic pain costs the Australian economy an estimated $34 billion annually and is the nation’s third most costly health problem.”

 

The $26 million NSW Pain Management Plan includes:

 

  • $2.1 million per year towards new, dedicated medical, nursing and allied health positions to meet service and training requirements of Tier 3 (tertiary care) services
  • An additional $1.7 million per year to establish new Tier 2 pain management services at Tamworth, Orange, Port Macquarie and Port Kembla and to enhance the service at Lismore
  • An additional $620,000 per year to enhance existing services at John Hunter, Royal Prince Alfred, Prince of Wales, Royal North Shore and The Children’s Hospital, Westmead to become support centres to new regional services
  • $200,000 per year to enhance regional paediatric services at John Hunter Hospital
  • $337,500 to integrate evidence-based clinical resources for pain management into primary health care information systems
  • $300,000 per year to enable systematic collection and evaluation of data on key pain outcomes across all Tier 3 and Tier 2 services
  • $70,000 to support the Concord Hospital early intervention trial for injured workers
  • $745,000 per year to establish five new Pain Medicine Specialist training positions at John Hunter, Royal Prince Alfred, Prince of Wales, Royal North Shore and The Children’s Hospital, Westmead
  • $735,000 in annual funding to support the role of the Pain Management Research Institute (PMRI) at Royal North Shore Hospital in providing leadership and coordination of pain research and training across NSW.