Chronic pain management is a ‘balancing act’
Dr Karen Joseph runs a pelvic pain clinic in Christchurch and told Newshub there is an immense unmet need in New Zealand for specialist help for people living with persistent pelvic pain.
She said unfortunately surgery does not fix pain for the vast majority of people with pelvic pain conditions who often rely on emergency departments to manage flare-ups.
Dr Joseph said EDs aren’t set up to properly manage chronic diseases and are already facing huge pressure which means people with persistent pain often don’t have good experiences.
O&G Magazine
Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common presentation to GPs and gynaecologists. Effective management of CPP, however, is often found to be challenging.
A 2018 survey of UK gynaecologists found that 45 per cent felt they were unable to adequately manage CPP, and a 2016 audit of gynaecologists at a tertiary women’s hospital in NZ found that only 7 per cent rated the quality of their CPP assessment as ‘good’ and none as ‘excellent’. (Page 39)