Fiona Ashworth attends Pain Summit at Westminster
2nd December 2011Fiona Ashworth attended the Pain Summit on the 22nd November 2011 at Central Hall, Westminster.
This was a joint venture organised by the Chronic Pain Policy Coalition, the British Pain Society, the Faculty of Pain Medicine and the Royal College of General Practitioners.
The Chronic Pain Policy Coalition is a forum established in 2006 to unite patients, professionals and Parliamentarians in a mission to develop an improved strategy for the prevention, treatment and management of chronic pain and its associated conditions.
The invited audience was addressed by Earl Howe, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Quality at the Department of Health, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, Medical Director of the NHS in England, Professor Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work, Professor Richard Langford, President of the British Pain Society and Professor Liam Donaldson,Chair of the National Patient Safety Agency and former Chief Medical Officer for England.
It was reinforced that chronic pain is a condition in its own right and this presents a great challenge to health care professionals. It is estimated that 7% of the population has a chronic pain condition.
Fiona was invited to take part in the Public Health workshop to discuss the management of pain. She was able to stress the importance of early diagnosis and prompt treatment as being the most significant factors in successful treatment in chronic pain caused by trauma.
Fiona was extremely honoured to have been invited to the Summit, being the only lawyer asked to attend.
The full post Pain Summit report will be available later in the year.