Pain Clinic
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A range of medical treatments can be offered in Pain Clinic. The aim is to try and reduce pain as much as possible and to increase function and quality of life. The medical management of your pain may include recommending the use of medication for pain relief or trying to improve the effect of the pain medication that you are already taking. However, it may be that you find that medication is not very effective or that you do not tolerate it very well. For example, you find that you get side effects. If this is the case we can work with you to reduce or stop taking medication.
Besides medication, we may recommend other pain interventions and we offer a wide range of injection treatments and have particular expertise in guided injection treatments. We will also give you information about your pain condition and advice on what you can do to try and improve your pain. Where appropriate, we may recommend referral to another team for further help and advice,
It is important to remember that not everyone with chronic pain needs to be seen in Pain Clinic. Your family doctor, current medical or surgical team or other health care professional may be more than capable of helping you to manage your pain. However, if things are not improving we are here to try and help if we can in the Pain Clinic.
Consultants in Pain Medicine:
- Dr Andrew Nicolaou (lead)
- Dr James Blackman
- Dr Andrzej Krol
- Dr Oliver Seyfried
- Dr Hadi Bedran
- Dr Moein Tavakkoli-Zadeh
To contact any of the above consultants, please contact the St George’s Hospital Pain Clinic on 020 8266 6577 or 020 8266 6524.
Contact details
Clinics are held in
- Atkinson Morley Wing, St George’s Hospital, Tooting
- Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton.
Pain Clinic, Atkinson Morley Wing, St George’s Hospital
Please contact the booking team for appointment bookings, cancellations and referrals
Telephone:
- 020 8725 4321 – new appointments and follow-up appointments
For all other queries please contact medical secretaries:
Pain Clinic
Atkinson Morley Wing
St George’s Hospital
Tooting
London SW17 0QT
- Telephone: 020 8266 6577 or 6524
Pain Clinic at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton
Central booking team for appointment bookings, cancellations and referrals
- Telephone: 020 8487 6290
- Fax: 020 8487 6304
Medical secretary for all other queries
- Telephone: 020 8487 6038
Referrals
Referrals to Pain Clinic can only be made by GP’s through e-Referral Service (eRS) – The St George’s Clinical Commissioner Reference Group (CCRG) and Clinical Quality Review Group (CQRG) have agreed that patients requiring Pain Clinic should be referred back to primary care to seek GP advice on management of cases and local pathways, and therefore Pain Clinic does NOT accept direct consultant-to-consultant referrals.
Referrals toPain Clinic must include information regarding –
- comprehensive pain history
- previous treatments and their outcome
- current and past pharmacology
- relevant past medical history
- Social and occupational impact of pain
- Patient’s expectations / objectives for intervention
Referrals that do not contain this information cannot be accepted.
In keeping with British Pain Society guidance, patients should ideally initially be seen in their local Chronic Pain Service. However, we will accept referrals for people who do not live locally to St George’s Hospital if a referral is made directly (or at the request) of their local Chronic Pain Service. The referral must include information from the local service regarding a comprehensive and up to date pain assessment, including assessment of needs and the reason(s) for requesting onward referral. This is to enable partnership working close to the person’s home
Clinic information / what to expect at an appointment
During the first appointment a history of your pain will be taken. You will be asked how and when the pain started, what symptoms you experience now, what previous treatments that you have tried for you pain and how the pain affects your life. You will also be asked about your general health and lifestyle. It is important to mention any other medical conditions that you have and also any other treatments that you are currently having. It can be helpful to bring a list of your medications. Discussion with the doctor may be followed by a physical examination and sometimes further investigations, before a treatment plan is discussed and agreed with you. The plan may involve treatment under the care of Pain Clinic or a referral may be made to another team who can offer you the most appropriate treatment for your needs. Following your assessment, a letter will be written to the GP and referring healthcare professional to ensure continuity of care. If you attend for further appointments your GP with receive an update on your progress.
