09 11

The management of pain in patients with cancer - Best Practice Statement (QIS - complementary medicine)  page 43

Complementary therapies can have a role to play in the individual management of pain in patients with cancer.

Complementary therapies may be of benefit in the management of pain in patients with cancer  (Patient Advisory Group. 2009 and Menefee Pujol, L. A. & Monti, D. A. 2007, “Managing cancer pain with nonpharmacologic and complementary therapies”, The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, vol. 107, no. 7, pp. 15-21.)

Records demonstrate that complementary therapies have been considered as a management option, if appropriate and locally available.

08 05

The Pitillo Report

Report to Ministers from The Department of Health Steering Group on the Statutory Regulation of Practitioners of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Other Traditional Medicine Systems Practised in the UK

The stimuli for  this  were  the  House  of  Lords’  Select  Committee  on  Science  and Technology’s  report  in  2000 and  the  Government  response  to  it  in  2001.

The recommendations in this report have taken account of emerging health policy over the past decade relevant to protecting patients and new ways of working for healthcare professionals. There has been positive discussion with statutory regulatory bodies, particularly with the Health Professions Council (HPC) which is the proposed new regulator for acupuncture, herbal/traditional medicine and traditional Chinese medicine as well as with professional bodies and practitioners. The report is therefore framed within the context of existing health policy.

07 12

Getting to GRIPS with Chronic Pain in Scotland - Getting Relevant Information on Pain Services

The GRIPS Report

NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) was approached by representatives from the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the Cross-Party Group on Chronic Pain, the North British Pain Society and by a range of healthcare professionals and patients all asking whether we could together act as the catalyst that would bring about change. We have worked with all these groups and individuals, and with NHS Boards and we thank them sincerely for their openness and support during the preparation of this report. In particular we acknowledge the work of Janette Barrie who has co-ordinated this project from start to finish.

Together we have delivered the most comprehensive stocktake of chronic pain services ever produced and we have reported from every perspective: that of the patients, that of the healthcare professionals providing services; and that of the NHS Boards responsible for strategic planning, funding and delivery of the services. The messages are stark and the actions are clear. We need to stop talking about what is not working and start improving these services as a matter of priority. With ‘Better Health, Better Care’ and the Scottish Government’s Long Term Conditions Alliance we have never had a better opportunity to make a difference and we hope this report will indeed light the touch paper of improvement and change.

07 11

Efficacy Of Selected Complementary And Alternative Medicine Interventions For Chronic Pain

Published by the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development  (Department of Veteran Affairs) to provide an up-to-date review of the efficacy of selected CAM modalities in the management of chronic pain. (Update June/07)

07 06

Efficacy Of Selected Complementary And Alternative Medicine Interventions For Chronic Pain

Published by the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development to provide an up-to-date review of the efficacy of selected CAM modalities in the management of chronic pain. (Update June/07).

06 02

Management of Chronic Pain in Adults (QIS - 2006)

(Use of complementary therapies in the management of chronic pain on Section 10)

Best practice statement on the management of chronic pain in adults

This best practice statement has been developed by a multidisciplinary working group of relevant specialists, which included people living with chronic pain and carers.  A multi-professional reference group has advised on and overseen the work of the working group.

This Best practice statement refers to the management of chronic pain in adults; it does not address the needs of children who suffer chronic pain.

04 07

Chronic Pain Services in Scotland

( McEwan Report )

Prof James McEwen - Emeritus Professor in Public Health

Review carried out at the request of the Scottish Executive. Reviews referral protocols for the treatment of chronic pain and the range of services in each of the health boards for treating chronic pain; Draws conclusions about the level of services for treating chronic pain across Scotland, compared to the recommendations made by the 1994 report by a working group of the National Medical Advisory Committee on the Management of Patients with Chronic Pain and the 2000 Clinical Standards Advisory Group Report on Services for Patients with Pain; Makes recommendations on how to improve the level of service across Scotland.

03 01

British Medical Association (BMA) - Complementary & Alternative Medicine - submission to public petitions committee

CAM in NHS Scotland response

The BMA is supportive of those forms of complementary therapy for which evidence of claims of efficacy can be demonstrated. We favour those that also have independent regulatory systems in place. It would be premature to place obligations on health boards, statutory or otherwise, to integrate complementary therapies within the NHS in Scotland.

We acknowledge the lack of equitable provision throughout Scotland but we would argue that sufficient evidence of efficacy is not yet available to justify a comprehensive policy on provision. We are not aware of any statistics on the number of practitioners in the various CAM disciplines in Scotland; we submit that reliable and meaningful statistics would only be available where regulatory bodies existed. Extensive research into the safety and efficacy of various therapies is underway across the UK (and to our knowledge also in Scotland) and further afield.

Further research is needed but this should be considered in the context of what is currently being done internationally.

99 07

The Economic Burden of Back Pain in the UK

( Maniadakis paper ) 

Nikolaos Maniadakis, Alastair Gray

This paper reports the results of a 'cost-of-illness' study of the socio-economic costs of back pain in the UK. Overall, back pain is one of the most costly conditions for which an economic analysis has been carried out in the UK and this is in line with findings in other countries. Further research is needed to establish the cost-effectiveness of alternative back pain treatments, so as to minimise cost and maximise the health benefit from the resources used in this area. © 2000 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.