Summary
Health Innovation Manchester has supported Greater Manchester healthcare professionals to design a hub that gathers helpful tools and resources in one place.
Greater Manchester healthcare professionals have co-designed a new pain management resources hub, with support from Health Innovation Manchester.
The hub brings together a variety of useful resources including guidance to support effective consultations, patient self-management information to share, clinician aids and tools, shared learning and education, how to use data to understand the local population, and information to access related services across the conurbation.
Launched on Wednesday 17 January, 2024, the GM Pain Management Resources Hub is the culmination of discovery workshops and multi-disciplinary working groups held over the past year as part of the national Medicines Safety Improvement Programme.
GM has one of the highest opioid prescribing rates in England, and contributors were asked to identify where improvements were needed and what could be done to contribute to the programme’s national aim of reducing harm from opioids.
To successfully support people living with chronic pain, primary care health care professionals said they needed more education, training, tools, and resources. The hub aims to deliver on the following specific objectives:
- To bring resources together in one accessible location
- To provide key information in easy, short-form formats
- To develop and deliver education for healthcare professionals
- To facilitate opportunities to share learning and lived experiences
As the hub developed, Health Innovation Manchester worked with Salford Pain Centre, Manchester Pain Collaborative, and the Integrated Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Group to design the resources hub, identify appropriate content, and develop local materials.
The hub and resources have been endorsed by the Greater Manchester Medicines Management Group (GMMMG) and has support from across general practice and pharmacy sectors.
Content, accessibility and usability has been reviewed by the University of Manchester along with primary care clinicians.
The hub is available to any healthcare professional supporting people living with pain and is hosted on the Health Innovation Manchester website.
Dr Tracey Vell, Chief Officer of the Greater Manchester Primary Care Board, Medical Executive Lead for Primary Care ay NHS GM and Medical Director at Health Innovation Manchester, said: “Health Innovation Manchester has collaborated with healthcare professionals across clinical settings, the VCSE sector, and people with lived experience from Greater Manchester to develop a hub of resources that will empower healthcare professionals to navigate the complex journey of supporting individuals living with chronic pain.
“I envisage a thriving hub that enables the sharing of learning and expertise, encourages compassion and drives adoption of innovation; ensuring that every patient’s pain is met with understanding and skill supported by a comprehensive toolkit.”
