Impact Review 2025/26: Chronic Pain HIT

Reducing pain medication: supporting patients and clinicians

Research shows that long term use of pain medication can cause other health problems and be difficult to discontinue. A priority for the HIT is to find ways to help people reduce their pain medication.

A co-produced patient workbook, and a Clinical Manual to sit alongside this, has now been developed. These tools are being approved by the BNSSG ICB Medicines Optimisation Group.

Work to develop a pain medication reduction calculator for clinicians is ongoing. The HIT is supporting staff time to get the calculator through the governance system of the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust.

Addressing local gaps in chronic pain services

Weston super Mare and its localities has one of the highest rates of people living with chronic pain in the region.

The HIT, worked with Weston General Hospital pain consultants, DeepEnd GP practices, pharmacies and public contributors to secure type 1 Research Capability Funding (RCF), which has enabled specific pain engagement activities in Weston, including a patient survey.

2,500 people with chronic pain responded to the survey, of whom 900 people indicated that they would like to be involved in a chronic pain engagement event. Read the report

Two co-produced events in September and November 2025 then invited people living with pain (many of whom had responded to the survey) to share their experiences and challenges. Discussion topics included the sense of isolation, effect on mental health, lack of ongoing support for health needs, and the need for more chronic pain resources and information, particularly for self-management of pain.

A successful pilot project in Weston showed that shows that Pain Cafes are a good model for support where it is lacking otherwise. The HIT has now secured type 2 RCF to will fund training for social prescribers to do Live Well with Pain training, and help set up Pain Cafes in Weston.