Number of Dumfries and Galloway residents in chronic pain awaiting appointments hits record high

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The number of people in chronic pain in Dumfries and Galloway waiting for an appointment has hit a record high.

And more than half the people who are being seen have waited more than 40 weeks for an appointment – with some waiting for more than a year to be seen.

The figures were revealed by Public Health Scotland, with NHS Dumfries and Galloway offering “sincere apologies” and putting the problem down to a staff shortage.

Public Health Scotland describes chronic pain as “pain that carries on for longer than 12 weeks despite “medication or treatment”.

Their data shows that at the end of September, 422 people in Dumfries and Galloway were waiting for their first appointment at a chronic pain clinic – 17 of whom have been waiting for more than a year.

The number waiting is up from 357 at the end of June and from 247 at the end of September last year.

Across Scotland, the total waiting rose from 4,971 at the end of June to 5,377 at the end of September.

During July, August and September, 176 people were referred to a chronic pain clinic.

Over the same period, 70 people were seen at a clinic – compared to just 14 in the previous quarter.

Of the 70, 20 had been waiting between 40 and 48 weeks, with 12 waiting between 49 and 52 weeks. Another 12 had been waiting for more than a year.

An NHS Dumfries and Galloway spokesman said: “Work has taken place to address waiting times around chronic pain. Like so many services, it is experiencing a high backlog of need - being met by a small team which in this case is currently missing a key member.

“This has inevitably impacted on waiting times, with sincere apologies to everyone affected.

“At present, two consultants are currently providing two clinics per week in this specialist area, in addition to carrying out their many other duties, as part of efforts to ensure access to virtual one-to-one sessions and in-person clinics offering interventional pain treatments.

“Currently, pain education/information sessions cannot be provided due to the staff absence and an inability to recruit temporary cover.”

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