Scottish medical professionals are being urged to utilise a new free information CD to help manage their patients' pain.
The
Breaking Barriers: management of cancer-related pain information CD ROM is being supplied to medical professionals at the World Congress on Pain being held in Glasgow this week.
The free interactive CD ROM describes accurate ways of measuring pain, the combination of drug treatments that may assist in pain management, how to tailor treatments to individual patients and the importance of communication skills. It is provided by The Institute of Cancer Research and was developed in collaboration with The Royal Marsden Hospital.
It is the first CD ROM to combine such depth with a user-friendly interface that maximises a healthcare professional's understanding of cancer pain management. Animations, videos and interactive elements all combine to rapidly educate and assist the user.
Catherine Dunbar is Manager of The Institute of Cancer Research's Interactive Education Unit (IEU), which is attending the World Congress on Pain. She explains:
"Every year 26,500 people in Scotland discover they have cancer and most of those will go on to seek treatment for pain and discomfort. Regrettably, managing cancer pain is a problematic area and half of all patients in Western countries may not receive adequate pain relief. A free CD ROM from The Institute of Cancer Research, developed in collaboration with The Royal Marsden, enables healthcare professionals to explore new ways to manage the pain of patients."
Breaking Barriers encourages practitioners to explore not only the physical side of pain management but the psychosocial side. Skills include instilling confidence in patients so that they can better care for themselves, or helping patients overcome fears such as the fear of opioid addiction. More information is available at
www.icr.ac.uk/ieu/.
Breaking Barriers is already being used by some Scottish healthcare professionals and educators. We hope many more healthcare professionals in Scotland and elsewhere request their free copy by calling 05601 422 921.
Dr John Williams is Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at The Royal Marsden Hospital, as well as the lead medical advisor in the creation of the CD ROM. He said: "Pain is, fundamentally, a treatable phenomenon. It is beholden on us as practitioners to make sure that patients who have got pain are recognised and are directed to appropriate cancer-related pain treatment services, whether they arrive within our hospitals or within our outpatient departments."