"What a waste of two years"

Thank you for taking the time to post your review on NHS Choices. We are very sorry to hear that you are unhappy about the care which you have received from the Pain Management service. We make every effort to offer a tailored care package for each pain patient in line with their needs. There are occasions when specific interventions, such as TENS, are offered to patients more than once as conditions and patient suitability to that service can change over time. Our pain team make every effort to deal with patients in a caring, compassionate and approachable manner and I am sure they will be very saddened to hear that this has not been your impression during consultations for which we offer our unconditional apologies. All patients should also be engaged in conversations with their consultant to agree a care plan jointly which is then confirmed in writing to your GP and a copy of this correspondence should also be sent to you. If this has not been the case we can investigate this failure once we have had an opportunity to talk. We are also sorry to hear that you were not comfortable with the manner in which the students were present during your consultation. You have the right to refuse students being present and this should in no way affect the care that you receive. Once again, we apologise that this did not happen and would like the opportunity to investigate this further. Due to the anonymous nature of your review, it is difficult to comment on your specific experience, however, we would be happy to discuss this with you should you wish to contact Andrew Pike, Assistant Directorate Manager on 0191 244 8544 or a member of the Patient Relations Team on 0191 2231382.