About our pain management service

We provide an integrated pain service, covering both acute and chronic pain. We also see patients with cancer pain and sickle crisis. We have strong links with our palliative care team and haematology team.

We aim to provide high quality pain control as well as improvement in patient function and wellbeing.

We treat both inpatients and outpatients across hospital.  We see around 2000 patients in clinic per year with complex pain issues as well as our inpatients and interventional cases.

We help patients with a broad range of chronic pain problems, especially spinal pain, to improve their pain control and quality of life. We may request tests such as MRI and nerve conduction studies to work out the cause of their pain. We use a holistic approach to pain control, as one method does not work for all.

Conditions we treat

The most common condition presented to our clinic is back pain with or without sciatica. 

Other conditions treated are:

  • Musculoskeletal pain
  • Joint pain (shoulder, knee, hip)
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Neuropathic pain
  • Phantom limb pain
  • Post herpes
  • Neck pain
  • Central pain syndromes
  • Functional pain syndromes
  • Multi-disciplinary clinic for sickle pain
  • Specialist clinic for abdomino-pelvic pain and complex regional pain syndrome

How to prepare for your visit

First outpatient consultation

This will be held with one of the pain consultants and/or clinical nurse specialists. They will discuss your pain and pain medical history. You should bring a list of your medications.  Advice on a variety of appropriate treatment options available will be discussed with you. Following this appointment, you may be referred to a different member of the team according to the agreed pain management plan.

Follow up appointments

Subsequent consultations will be scheduled according to your pain management plan and you will be seen by an appropriate member of our team, which may be a different person from your previous appointment.

TENS Clinic

As part of your journey within the pain clinic you may be offered an appointment in the TENS clinic. TENS is a small, portable, non-pharmacological device which may help to reduce your pain.

Day Surgery

If you are coming for a procedure, day surgery guidelines will be followed and you will be given information about this.

Where to find us

Our clinics are held in a designated outpatients area within the main building.

Day surgery theatres are on the first floor of the main building.

Refer a patient

We treat any complex pain that continues beyond three months, despite initial treatment.

Meet our team

Consultants:

  • Dr Alice Man, pain medicine and anaesthesia
  • Dr Roopa Chatterjee, pain medicine and anaesthesia (pain management lead)

Clinical nurse specialists:

  • Ajith Bageerathan
  • Parvez Ameerun
  • Dominic Laquire

Secretary:

  • Sadia Ahmed

Service manager:

  • Patience Kursten-Holmes, 0208 887 3406

Deputy service manager:

  • Cheryl Harris, 0208 887 2827

Patient pathway coordinator:    

  • Doorgeshwan Sokappadu, 0208 887 3528