Only £333,000 out of £51.6 million being used to reduce chronic pain waiting times in Scotland
Research by the Scottish Conservatives has revealed that only £333,000 out of £51.6 million of funding set aside to reduce waiting times has been used for chronic pain – less than 1%.
Recent ISD figures show that only 71.5% of patients waiting for a chronic pain first appointment are seen within the 18 week target.
Miles Briggs, Co-Convenor of the Parliament’s CPG on Chronic Pain, said: “ Chronic pain patients will be shocked and angry that so little funding from the Scottish Government’s extra money to tackle waiting times has been used by health boards for chronic pain services.
“ Given the unacceptable waiting times for treatment far too many chronic pain patients experience, waits which are leading some patients to become severely depressed and suicidal, it is massively disappointing that the Scottish Government’s talk of more funding to improve services simply isn’t delivering anything tangible to boost local chronic pain services.
“ I will be pursuing this matter again with SNP Ministers through Parliamentary questions and asking how much oversight they are conducting of how extra funding is being used by NHS Boards. I have already written to the new Health Secretary Jeane Freeman calling for a new approach to the delivery of services to patients with chronic pain.”
ISD figures released 12th June 2018:
| NHS Board | Type of adjustment1 | Total Patients Seen | Number of patients seen at a pain clinic/service for a first appointment | Percentage of patients seen at a pain clinic/service for a first appointment | Median | 90th Percentile | ||
| 0-18 weeks | over 18 weeks | 0-18 weeks | over 18 weeks | (weeks) | (weeks) | |||
| NHS Ayrshire & Arran | NA,U,RO | 226 | 22 | 204 | 9.7% | 90.3% | 21 | 26 |
| NHS Borders | NA,U,RO | 47 | 47 | 0 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 7 | 11 |
| NHS Dumfries & Galloway | U,RO | 88 | 72 | 16 | 81.8% | 18.2% | 14 | 21 |
| NHS Fife | NA,U,RO | 112 | 112 | 0 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 10 | 12 |
| NHS Forth Valley | NA,U | 196 | 183 | 13 | 93.4% | 6.6% | 14 | 17 |
| NHS Grampian | NA,U,RO | 241 | 41 | 200 | 17.0% | 83.0% | 42 | 45 |
| NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde | NA,U,RO | 739 | 501 | 238 | 67.8% | 32.2% | 15 | 21 |
| NHS Highland | NA,U,RO | 0 | 0 | 0 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| NHS Lanarkshire | NA,U,RO | 236 | 236 | 0 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 7 | 11 |
| NHS Lothian | NA,U,RO | 420 | 419 | 1 | 99.8% | 0.2% | 11 | 12 |
| NHS Orkney | NA,U,RO | 13 | 13 | 0 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 8 | 11 |
| NHS Shetland | NA,U,RO | 24 | 18 | 6 | 75.0% | 25.0% | 16 | 20 |
| NHS Tayside | NA,U,RO | 230 | 176 | 54 | 76.5% | 23.5% | 9 | 21 |
| NHS Western Isles | NA,U,RO | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| Scotland | .. | 2,572 | 1,840 | 732 | 71.5% | 28.5% | 12 | 25 |
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