The Strain of Pain –

Poor Pain Management Fails Elderly And Their Carers

 23 October 2006: First time research released today reveals appalling new YouGov data on the carer’s perspective of looking after older people in pain.   Commissioned by The Patients Association, 3,000 carers of those aged 65+ living with chronic pain were surveyed across Great Britain .

• 58% revealed that their patient feels guilty about being a burden on their carer

• Because of suffering from chronic pain 19% of patients talk of suicide

• Just over a half (51%) of carers said that their patient’s chronic pain was managed adequately but not very well

• Nearly a third (31%) said their patient’s chronic pain was managed poorly or very poorly

• 39% of non-professional carers reported that healthcare professionals never or only occasionally reviewed their patient’s pain level

“Chronic pain changed my husband from a sociable friendly man into a moody difficult person” said one respondent. “Chronic pain completely destroys the sufferer’s and carer’s quality of life and erodes the will to live” commented another.

Half (49%) of carers spend more than 12 hours per week with the person they care for; with one in five (19%) spending more than 48 hours per week as a carer.   73% of carers said that because of their chronic pain, their patients were less able to cope with everyday life. Chronic pain prevents 9 out of 10 patients from walking without difficulty and only 19% could still do their shopping. 

The general feeling amongst carers – that not enough is being done to improve the management of their patient’s pain – is summed up by this respondent:

“When the pain was at its worse I felt helpless.   The GP didn’t want to know (‘nothing I can do’) and if I sent her to hospital they’d waste time looking for the causes instead of treating the pain.”

After consulting healthcare professionals:

• Less than one-third of non-professional carers saw a positive outcome for their patient’s pain

• Only 6% of carers reported an outcome that was not based on medication, suggesting a heavy reliance on tablets or capsules to alleviate suffering, and much less emphasis on bio psychosocial (non-medical) pain management solutions.

Katherine Murphy from The Patients Association concluded: “The Government must take the lead on this initiative as it is clear that older people’s chronic pain is still being neglected.   GPs need more education on managing pain and carers and the general public should have better access to the information available on pain management solutions.”

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1.       Pain in Older People – the Carer’s Perspective; commissioned by The Patients Association and supported by a research grant from Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited.

Notes

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total screened sample size was 2,959 GB adults (n=533 professional carers and n=2,426 non-professional carers). Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th and 24th July 2006.  The survey was carried out online.

 (23/10/06)