Pain management represents one of the greatest challenges to the health service. A review of current guidance and best policy for pain management has shown that there is a need to improve the quality of care by reducing unnecessary treatments and focusing on what is the best way to manage people’s pain according to the best and most recent research findings.
Current research evidence tells us the most effective way to manage pain is for patients to receive an all-round ‘multidisciplinary’ approach to their care, which looks not just at the pain being experienced but at the factors that cause it. Services should consider not just the physical issues being experienced, but also psychological and even social factors. This model of care will ensure patients receive the right treatment at the right time.
Upon reviewing this guidance, it was been determined that Ramsay Healthcare only offered a limited part of this pathway. Therefore, referrals to Ramsay Healthcare to provide NHS pain management services in Lancashire and South Cumbria were stopped by the end of December 2025. All existing patients were transferred to the most appropriate service for ongoing management of their condition.
As part of the communications to patients, they were invited to take part in a survey to provide feedback on the services they had received and also to comment on how the removal of the Ramsay service may impact them in the future. The results of this will feed into ICB commissioning considerations going forward.