Losing-faith: the patients waiting years for specialist pain treatment

摘要

Almost 30 years later, Chuter - now chair of Pain UK, an alliance of charities providing support for people living with pain - says many others are still going through the same experience. "Chronic pain affects tire whole of your life, and it affects the lives of people around you in a very profound way. "Pain is so draining. Trying to switch off the panic and anxiety is really hard," he adds. Chronic pain - defined as pain that has persisted for more than three months - is thought to affect around 28 million people in the UK and, according to the Royal College of General Practitioners, is a presenting condition in around 22% of primary care consultations1.