Patients ‘don’t see an end’ to their pain as they battle with waiting lists for management clinics [Video]

PATIENTS LIVING WITH ‘debilitating’ pain every day are among those waiting up to a year for appointments with pain management clinics.

Some patients say “don’t see an end” to their pain after years of disappointment.

The HSE says that there has been a ‘significant’ increase in the number of people needing treatment for pain in recent years.

There are 16 specialised pain clinics in Ireland and currently 14,445 outpatients waiting to be seen. Half of these people have been waiting longer than six months.

Patients are most frequently referred with musculoskeletal pain due to osteoarthritis, as well as conditions such as fibromyalgia, migraines, and chronic abdominal and pelvic pain – all of which affect more women than men.

A small percentage of patients have more complex and rare pain syndromes like trigeminal neuralgia, bladder pain syndrome, and spasticity.

Katherine [who asked for her full name not to be used] has …