MidCentral DHB’s acute pain service is committed to working with you as a patient to establish and maintain an acceptable level of comfort.
Who Does the Acute Pain Service Help?
The acute pain service works closely with medical, surgical and multidisciplinary teams to individualise pain management plans to suit each patient’s unique needs.
The pain service monitors post-operative patients who have advanced forms of analgesia such as PCA (patient controlled analgesia) and epidurals to make sure it is effective and side effects are controlled. For MidCentral’s elective surgery patients, this also involves reinforcing the information and education that was initiated at a preadmission clinic by the anaesthetists.
The ‘Help us to Help you’ Pain Scale
MidCentral Health has developed a ‘Help us to Help you’ 0-10 pain scale.
As part of your pain assessment, using the pain scale you will be asked to rate your pain:
- At rest
- On movement
- You will be asked to describe your pain
The information is vital in assisting the acute pain service team commence and monitor your pain management.
The Acute Pain Service Team
Supported by anaesthetists and the nurse practitioner – pain management, the acute pain service is staffed by senior nurses who have undergone post-graduate education.