Written question asked by Lord Luce (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Monday, 28 February 2011.

Health: Pain Management

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to highlight centres of excellence for multi-discipline pain management services in the United Kingdom; and whether they will ensure that those standards are met throughout the United Kingdom.

Answer: It is for local commissioners to determine how best to meet their population’s needs for pain management services, in the light of their assessment of the standards of current services, professional and clinical guidance, and experience in other health communities. From April 2012, subject to parliamentary approval, it will be for the National Commissioning Board to determine what support commissioners will need to discharge their responsibilities. In the meanwhile, the long-term conditions workstream of the Quality, Improvement, Productivity and Prevention programme is producing examples of best practice in delivering community-based multidisciplinary services for managing long-term conditions such as chronic pain. The second phase of the programme, due later this year, will take forward the learning from these projects.

Secondary information