Message from your forum chair

Published: 13 December 2012

As you will see from this newsletter your forum committee has been working hard and continues to do so in order to raise the profile of pain within and beyond the RCN. We are looking forward to Congress 2013 and urge you to come and join us. This is your forum and we want you to be involved. We have had two exciting and novel events accepted for the fringe programme at Congress: a poster comptetition and a topical panel debate with a comedy twist. Both events need you to participate and will be tweeted by an enthusiastic forum member who has agreed to be my personal tweeter at Congress.

We all know that the alleviation of pain is one of the most basic nursing acts and the key aim of all health care provision, yet is still proving difficult to deliver as the recent Patients Association report again sadly demonstrates. Read the RCN's response to the report.

All members of the nursing team are in an ideal position to assess, plan, deliver and evaluate the pain management of their patients. The RCN is perfectly placed to ensure that nurses are supported in this role through undergraduate and postgraduate education and training, as well as policies and procedures aimed at equity of care.

Therefore, Helen Taylor and I have submitted a proposal to the RCN Governance Department on behalf of the Pain and Palliative Care, Perioperative, Rheumatology and Older People’s Forums that proposes the RCN adopts pain into its five-year strategic plan for 2013-18. This proposal has gained support from expert nurses who hold academic positions and undertake nurse-led pain research that focuses on clinical practice. We have also gained support external to nursing from professional groups including the British Pain Society, the Chronic Pain Policy Coalition, the Faculty of Pain Medicine, Arthritis Care and the British Society for Rheumatology.

The proposal promotes cross-forum working. I can’t think of a single forum or setting for whom assessment and management of pain is not an issue. This proposal, if adopted, proffers a great opportunity to work with other disciplines and professional bodies to improve pain management.

I have also been representing the forum on the working party for pain in patients with learning disability and contributing with forum member Karin Cannons to Professor Pat Schofield’s revision of the Pain in Older People guidance document.

I continue to represent the RCN as a co-opted member of Council of the British Pain Society and to edit the British Journal of Pain which will remain free to access until the end of 2013. Please visit the journal website and take advantage of the free content.

Felicia Cox, Chair Pain and Palliative Care forum