Northampton General Hospital to offer hypnotherapy support for patients

Louise Foulsham-Mcfall and Consultant Anaesthetist Dr Paul Slater believe hypnotherapy will help patients to manage their pain, anxiety and stress

A consultant has said a hospital's introduction of hypnotherapy support will help patients manage pain, anxiety and stress.

Northampton General Hospital will offer the alternative treatment.

Hypnotherapy is a type of psychological therapy that uses hypnosis to help treat certain mental and physical health conditions.

Dr Paul Slater, a consultant anaesthetist, said the treatment option was "quite novel" for an NHS service.

He said: "Very few hospitals will offer hypnosis and I don't think there will be another hospital offering the service that we do."

Dr Slater and acute pain practitioner Louise Foulsham-Mcfall will offer some limited face-to-face support alongside online recorded sessions which patients can access from home.

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Dr Slater - who has used hypnosis for more than 10 years to help patients cope with anxiety about medical procedures - said the treatment can be thought of as "guided daydreaming".

He said: "Whilst daydreaming, the mind is relaxed and more open to suggestions from the therapist. This allows more effective management when dealing with pain, anxieties and stresses."

Ms Foulsham-Mcfall said: "Visiting hospital for a procedure, operation or investigation can cause anxiety - this can be a major event in some people's lives.

"Managing your anxiety, encouraging positive thinking, developing ways to increase your coping skills can all have a positive effect on your experience and help aid recovery."

She added that clinical hypnosis was extremely safe.

"You will be treated with care and respect and not asked to do or say anything you are not comfortable with," she said.

Ms Foulsham-McFall said she accepted that "there probably is" a level of scepticism about hypnosis due to its portrayal in media and entertainment but said patients "would never be made to do something they are not willing to do themselves".

More information on hypnotherapy is available on the NHS website.