The company behind a much criticised pain service is changing after listening to patients, a report into it states.
As previously reported in The Voice the outsourcing of the Pain Management Service to Newcastle-based private company Connect Health had left many in South Holland without treatment.
In October The Voice spoke to several people concerned about the lack of treatment and communication they’d received after the re-commissioning of the service away from the NHS by local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGS).
But a report by the NHS’s Martin Jago to Lincolnshire County Council’s Health and Scrutiny Committee states that changes have been made since the service went live last April.
It states that 107 formal complaints were registered but that “the rate of complaints was decreasing”.
It also claims that the average wait for treatment in the service is seven weeks and that it was serving around 12,000 patients.
The report concludes: “Connect Health have and are working extremely hard to mobilise a complex multi-faceted service based on “Best Practice” as recognised by the British Pain Society and NICE.
“The evidence received by CCGs demonstrates that they are listening to patients and have embarked upon a significant programme of change for its Referral Management Service to address many of the issues.
“Connect Health should be given the opportunity to complete the service transformation and report back on its outcomes and how that has supported the patient pathway.”
The report says that Connect Health have made “significant organisational changes that will provide improved services”.
It follows issues over the transfer of patient details from the CCGs to Connect Health following the outsourcing.
It continues: “The mobilisation of the new service has been challenging and has not provided a positive experience for some patients.
“The CCG and Connect health continue to work together to address issues highlighted by patients who have transitioned from previous services. The CCG has identified that planning and management of the model of delivery requiring additional support to be available for patients who will be receiving a service, that whilst being best practice, is not consistent with the treatment plan they were previously receiving.
“The CCG and Connect Health continue to work together to ensure that all actions are completed and that new issues for patients transitioning are addressed. Going forward the CCG and Connect Health will continue to drive improvement in service provision by using data and patient feedback to support continuous improvement and inform any new developments.”
