The Department Of Health (DH) - Response About Me Asking What They Are Doing To Raise Awareness For Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy\Complex Regional Pain Syndrome 1&2 (RSD/CRPS 1&2), & The 3 Stages/Phases Of RSD/CRPS 1&2 - SUFFERS
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Dear Mr Reynolds,
Thank you for your email of 4 November about reflex sympathetic dystrophy/complex regional pain syndrome (RSD/CRPS). I have been asked to reply.
I was very sorry to read that you suffer from this debilitating condition, which the Department recognises can have a devastating effect on the lives of the individual concerned and those around them.
The significance of chronic pain and the need for greater awareness of its impact was highlighted by the last Chief Medical Officer in his annual report for 2008, and there have been a number of developments since then including the publication of a clinical guideline by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on neuropathic pain.
There is no specific guidance in the UK on RSD/CRPS, but this is accepted by UK pain management specialists as a specific condition within the general area of chronic pain.
With regard to the lack of awareness of chronic pain issues, and RSD/CRPS in particular, among health professionals generally, the Chief Medical Officer’s report recommended including chronic pain training in the curricula of all healthcare professionals.
In theory, awareness of the principles of pain management already forms part of the basic education of both doctors and nurses, but a recent survey suggested that the time devoted to this topic is generally inadequate.
In the case of doctors, new arrangements will enable Medical Education England to work with the General Medical Council to ensure that its standards for the undergraduate medical curriculum fully reflect the needs of patients.
In the case of nursing, a new benchmark on the management of pain has been developed within the “Essence of Care” framework, which enables healthcare providers to monitor the quality of the nursing care they provide.
In the field of postgraduate training, you may be pleased to learn that the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) has made chronic pain one of its four clinical priorities for 2011-2013, and will appoint a clinical champion to lead a programme of work in this area.
The British Pain Society, patient groups such as those represented in the Chronic Pain Policy Coalition, and officials in the Department will be involved in encouraging development.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Mike De La Harpe - Customer Service Centre - Department of Health
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