The new offering will deliver enhanced outcomes for patients while providing value for money to taxpayers.
Connect Health, a leading specialised independent provider of integrated community health services, has been selected as the successful bidder for the delivery of the Lincolnshire Community Pain Management Service (CPMS).
Chronic pain affects up to 28 million adults in the UK, with 37% of women and 31% of men reporting chronic/persistent pain. A key challenge for Lincolnshire’s four clinical commissioning groups was how to manage the impact of persistent pain for their growing population of 782,551. Lincolnshire is the second largest county in England and has high levels of deprivation which creates a difficult environment in which to manage persistent pain.
Sarah-Jane Mills, Chief Operating Officer at NHS Lincolnshire West Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “This is a commissioning success story and has resulted from a wide engagement process with patients and health professionals over 18 months with really positive dialogue with all stakeholders.
“In the past, we have had a dispersed service which was dominated by medical interventions. Now we are transforming the service with the help of our patient experts and when you hear their stories, there are some truly jaw-dropping moments.
“We have 5,000 patients coming into the service every year and our patients will benefit significantly from this new service.”
The commissioned model supports innovation and a revolutionary way of supporting the community to manage and understand persistent pain enabling people to live a life of quality and value. If people are able to manage their pain better, they will be in employment more of the time, they will feel physically fitter, their mental health and wellbeing will be improved and they are less likely to need medical interventions.
A patient recently said: “The pain management programme I attended has given me more strategies to use and improved my motivation. I feel I have a better understanding of managing pain and it’s given me social network.”
Professor Andrew Walton, Executive Chair, Connect Health, added: “We are delighted to have been chosen to deliver this innovative model of care. Working together with the NHS, we are committed to delivering evidence-based, holistic and patient-centred care, which empowers patients to understand and manage their pain in the best way possible.”
Connect Health has been chosen to deliver the pain service due to their expertise over 30 years of delivering services across the UK, their patient-centred approach and innovative models of care underpinned by evidence and improved outcomes for patients. The rigorous selection process was based on quality, service locations, value for money and Connect scored highest for these areas.
The service will offer patients:
- Quicker access to care
- Appointments that are accessible offering patient choice across different sites
- Resources to support and sustain self-help
- Access to a multidisciplinary team (incl. physiotherapists, psychologists, pharmacists & occupational therapists)
- Integration with other community physical and mental health providers including voluntary sector groups
- Opportunities to contribute to future service development via patient steering groups and focus groups
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