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In pain, not eligible

Posted By vegaqy67

"In pain, not eligible"

About: St George Hospital / Pain Service

(as a service user),

I went to my initial appointment for pain therapy recently. I was seen by a counsellor, a physiotherapist and a doctor.

After talking to all, I was called into a room and told I was not eligible. The counsellor said it was because I drink at night and I was told I cannot be treated until I went through rehab. This was embarrassing because it was said in front of everyone.

I believe then they told me that there is no such thing as fibromyalgia and my arthritis was mild and my lower back problem, which had already been diagnosed by a specialist, was only old age. I felt none of this addressed my pain issues. The physiotherapist examined me and said they could see my pain but because of the other two, I felt like I was told that it was all in my head.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at least seven years ago and was on a disability pension for fibromyalgia for years until I was old enough to transfer to the age pension.

My question is, how does my drinking at night or my 'imaginary disease' take away from the fact that I am in constant pain, which is why I went to the hospital for help? How can prejudice and disbeliefs come into pain management? I feel as though I was let down. 

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Responses

Response from Paul Darcy, General Manager, St George Hospital 4 years ago
Paul Darcy
General Manager,
St George Hospital

General Manager of St George Hospital

Submitted on 19/08/2020 at 3:04 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 3:05 PM

Dear vegaqy67,

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback regarding our Pain Service.

Thank you also for reaching out to our Patient Experience Manager to discuss this further. I can assure you that the concerns you voiced have been passed on to the staff involved.

Clinical reviews of all new patients referred to our Pain Service involves a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach. This is based on best practice. As you have mentioned below, the review is conducted over a number of hours with the involvement of a pain specialist, physiotherapist and a psychologist. Following the assessment, the clinicians meet to discuss the findings and management recommendations and this is then fed back to the patient. Only the clinicians involved in your assessment were present during this feedback session, and I apologise if you found this embarrassing.

The pain team have advised me that recommendations were made for interventions prior to being eligible for the Pain Service. Once these interventions had been completed, staff have advised that you may be eligible for the intensive pain management program. I understand that you are being seen by the pain team physiotherapist for individual physiotherapy sessions.

I would like to apologise that you felt let down by the pain service and I can assure you that the Pain Service strives to provide a holistic approach to pain management.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Darcy

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