Coronavirus in Scotland: Patients 'forced' to travel south for chronic pain relief
- Published
Nan Black said her son Davie finds the journey for treatment "extremely difficult"
Patients with chronic pain in Scotland say they are being forced to travel in agony for costly treatment in England because they can't access it here.
Pain relief services were put on hold four months ago to ready the NHS for the Covid-19 response.
Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said she is committed to resuming the full range of pain services as soon as it is safe to do so.
However, some families say they have spent thousands of pounds on private treatment.
'Mindfulness doesn't cut it'
Davie Black, from South Lanarkshire, says he is in agony every day. The former policeman suffered nerve damage when he had a stroke.
His lifeline is an infusion of the anaesthetic lidocaine every five weeks.
Nan Black said tai-chi and mindfulness "don't cut it with chronic pain"
Because of Covid-19, this NHS service was cancelled. Increasingly desperate, his family have been driving Davie to England for private treatment.
His mother Nan Black said: "The journey down he finds extremely difficult because he's in a lot of pain at that point.
"It's a four-hour journey down, a two-hour visit, and a four-hour journey back.
"It's an extremely long day for him. We're talking 10 hours there and back and that's happened four times."
They have spent thousands of pounds already with no end in sight.
Nan said: "There has been no help for David and other people. Self-managing advice is on the government website.
"However tai-chi and mindfulness don't cut it with chronic pain. People with chronic pain, if they could self-manage it, they would do so, and they can't.
"I can go to a pub, I can go to a restaurant, my son can't get his chronic pain treatment."
Catherine Hughes has multiple conditions including arthritis
Catherine Hughes also has a daily struggle to manage her pain. She has multiple conditions, including arthritis.
Her ongoing treatment at a pain clinic has also been cancelled because of Covid-19 and a costly visit to the pain clinic in Doncaster is not an option.
'Tricky decisions'
Catherine said: "It's cruelty what's happening, it's totally inhumane.
"If I was an animal, someone would be prosecuted for not giving me treatment and allowing me to suffer."
Monica Lennon said patients should be reimbursed for their medical expenses
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said it was "really unfair" for those having to make the "very painful and difficult" journey to England for treatment.
She said: "In the immediate term, those patients who have had to do that should be reimbursed for their medical expenses and other travel and accommodation costs.
"What I want to see happen next is that the Scottish government make sure that patients in Scotland get treatment in Scotland."
Jason Leitch said "tricky decisions" have been made about health service changes
Scotland's national clinical director Prof Jason Leitch said he did not want people to have to spend their own money, go private, or have to travel for chronic pain treatment.
He said: "We have had to make really tricky decisions about the health service changing.
"Now we are remobilising and chronic pain is inside that puzzle and we'll be getting back to as close to normal as we can, as fast as we can."
The Scottish government said that advice has been published for people with specific medical conditions - including people with chronic pain - during the pandemic, directing them to a range of resources available while elective services are paused or re-starting.
Jeane Freeman said the full range of pain services will resume "as quickly as it safe to do so"
Scotland's Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said she appreciated how difficult it had been for those with chronic pain whose quality of life was affected.
Ms Freeman also said she was aware that some people had made the decision to travel to England for private health care.
She said: "During the pandemic, emergency and urgent care has been, and is being provided, including treatment for pain as a result of emergency, acute presentations, infusion pumps for palliative care and treatment for complex regional pain syndrome.
"We remain committed to resuming the full range of pain services as quickly as it is safe to do so, and we will shortly publish a Covid-19 Recovery Framework for NHS Pain Management Services to continue to inform this activity."
