VICDOC Winter 2022 - Magazine - Page 18
ADVOCACY WORK
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In May 2021, the Federal Health Minister, Greg
Hunt, launched Australia’s National Strategic Action
Plan for Pain Management, and was the first country
in the world to do so. The Action Plan, which is now
endorsed by all Australian governments, provides a
pathway to improved pain awareness, support and
treatment for people living with chronic pain. It’s a
start but there is a lot more work to be undertaken to
raise awareness of chronic pain sufferers’ poor quality
of life and their limited access to reasonable and cost
effective health care.
On several occasions, A/Prof Arnold fought
to avoid service closures, always championing the
humanitarian need for patients to be able to access
affordable and specialised pain for pain treatment
services. A/Prof Arnold hopes pain medicine as a
specialty can provide leadership, training and teaching
for doctors in primary care so they have access to
better information and training in how to manage
their patients’ pain. “Publicly funded pain services are
under-resourced,” says A/Prof Arnold. “That means
we have extensive waiting lists. This is not a good
way to manage these conditions and particularly in
the early stages when there might be some treatments
that could turn the situation around before someone
loses their employment, suffers financial distress or
becomes dependent on opioid medication as a result
of their injury. Providing training and education to
doctors and other health workers in primary care in
how to manage pain could be enormously beneficial.”
THE POSITIVE OU TCOMES
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When chronic pain sufferers have access to support,
many experience improved mental health and much
improved function. A/Prof Arnold says these patients
steadily experience a better quality of life. “Some
find they can do more things with their friends and
family. They can pace themselves with activity so they
can do things without exacerbating their symptoms.
They might go to work or simply manage better and
feel better in the world. That’s our goal really. With
older patients, we try to get them functioning better
within the limits of their general health conditions
and emphasise the importance of them keeping active
and avoiding depression and social disengagement.”
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AMA VI C TO RIA
A/Prof Arnold recalls Samantha, a patient who
attended her treatment program. “When I met her,
she was in a lot of pain. Her medications weren’t
working and her work was impacted by her pain.
Understandably, she was frustrated and irritable and
angry and difficult to deal with; but it turned out that
she had a lot of other problems. She began to realise
there were more things in her life that she had to
fix other than just taking more medication for the
pain. She was in an unhappy marriage, which she
hadn’t been able to face up to. She broke up from
the marriage and began to move these really big
mountains in her life which subsequently meant
she felt more in control and optimistic about the
future. She then found she could manage her pain
better. On her last session with me, she said,
“This is the best thing I’ve ever done!”
As for Aly, mentioned earlier in the article, life
is much improved. A team of multidisciplinary
professionals provided her with the support she
needed to manage and reduce her pain including
fortnightly sessions with a psychologist, support and
anti-depressant medication from her GP to manage
her mental health issues, medication and support
from a gynaecologist, and regular sessions with a
physiotherapist specialising in pelvic pain to upskill
and educate Aly in understanding pain and changing
her attitude to it.
A/Prof Arnold says the work can be confronting
for some patients. “Some people who attend our clinic
have had the most shocking life experiences. Appalling
things have happened in their lives and we have to
bear witness to that journey but sometimes even that
insight is enough to change their perspective or to
work out how they can be helped. Coming to our
clinic can be a defining moment for these patients,”
says A/Prof Arnold. “They step out of their lives.
We give them a different lens through which to
observe their own life. It’s powerful. They begin to
see their situation differently; not just as an unending
pain problem.”
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*Names of patients have been changed to protect their identities.