Chatham: New facility for chronic pain opens at Kent hospital

The new unit at Spire Alexandra Hospital in Chatham will support people with chronic pain

A new care suite for chronic pain has opened at a private hospital in Chatham.

The facility at Spire Alexandra Hospital will treat up to 6,000 patients - both private and NHS - each year.

It is hoped the new facility will ease pressure on NHS waiting lists across the local area.

Rebecca Bowman, a primary school teacher and patient at the suite, welcomed the opening.

Ms Bowman has a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and has had chronic pain since she was ten.

She said she saw her first pain management specialist at the suite.

"I have been to a lot of different doctors over the years and quite often I have been told that I will have pain for my entire life, and I just have to kind of get on with it," she said.

Rebecca Bowman has had chronic pain since she was ten years old

Since the suite opened in September, the facility has treated more than 300 NHS patients with chronic pain.

Jonathan Head, the hospital director, said the independent sector is remunerated "in the exact same way" as the local NHS trust hospital.

He said: "The patient is treated within our facility for the exact same cost as it would be in that trust hospital."

Dr John Ribchester, a Whitstable GP, said it is a question of "all hands to the pump at the moment."

He said: "We need as many people working to relive people's pain as possible. If anybody is prepared to step up and work at the NHS rate then that is surely a good thing."

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