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Chronic Pain Management and Neuromodulation Services at East Kent Hospitals

Chronic pain can be defined as continuous, long-term pain which has been present for at least 3 months and can be the result of a variety of causes. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust provides a comprehensive range of services for patients with chronic pain across east Kent and beyond.

We also have an established neuromodulation service, and are the only service in Kent, Surrey & Sussex who offer spinal cord stimulation and other neuromodulation techniques.

The best results for treating chronic pain conditions are usually achieved by a team of several different healthcare professionals. The Kent Centre for Pain Medicine and Neuromodulation (KCPM) have a multidisciplinary team offering expert specialist support for people living with long-term, persistent pain. We may not offer you a cure for your pain, but we will try to help you to manage it. Patients are referred to the service via their GP or hospital specialist, or other health care professional.

Our service is consultant-led, supported by a team of clinical nurse specialists, a pain psychologist, and an occupational therapist. We work in partnership with our patients by encouraging them to actively take part in the decision-making process regarding their treatments.

We aim to improve the quality of lives of our patients by helping them to control and manage their pain, and to lead as fulfilling and independent lives as possible. Our pain service deals with all forms of chronic pain, including musculoskeletal (muscles, bones and joints), neurological (nervous system), internal organs (visceral), and unexplained pain.

Working with all members of the pain team, we will develop a bespoke management plan that addresses both your emotional as well as your physical well-being. We aim to provide you with the skills you need to enable you to manage your pain and symptoms more effectively. This may be achieved in a number of different ways. You will have a plan to suit your individual needs following an assessment by a consultant specialising in chronic pain management.

You may be required to attend hospital for your appointment. However, your initial consultation may take place virtually, via a video link. Alternatively, you may have a telephone consultation.

Our outpatient clinics are currently held at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Margate.

Procedure lists currently take place at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

We also have close links with the Community Chronic Pain service run by Kent Community Health Trust, ensuring patients who are referred from one service to the other have more continuity of care.

This webpage is intended to answer your questions about the services available from us, your treatment, the staff who will be treating you, and where you can find further information regarding your condition.

Outpatient services

  • Consultant-led chronic pain clinics
  • Clinical nurse specialist clinics
  • Consultant and nurse led minor procedures
  • Nurse led post-procedure follow up telephone consultations
  • Specialist intrathecal pump refill clinics
  • Nurse led spinal cord stimulator reprogramming clinics
  • Nurse led ‘flare-up’ telephone consultations
  • Specialist pain counselling psychologist clinic
  • Specialist occupational therapist clinics
  • Multidisciplinary spinal cord stimulator education sessions

Procedures

  • Myofascial injections
  • Epidurals (for treatment of sciatic pains)
  • Facet joint denervations (for treatment of neck, upper back and lower back pain)
  • Spinal nerve blocks
  • Peripheral nerve blocks
  • Botox for migraine
  • Sacroiliac joint injections
  • Sacroiliac joint denervation
  • Cancer pain management procedures
  • Neuromodulation
  • Spinal cord stimulators
  • Dorsal root ganglion stimulators
  • Peripheral nerve stimulators

Inpatient services

Our clinical nurse specialists also provide nurse-led ward rounds regularly, and provide advice over the phone to the ward teams for complex pain patients.

We take referrals from the medical teams via Sunrise and we aim to respond within 72 hours.

Contact us:

  • Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury
    Telephone: 01227 783049
  • Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, Margate
    Telephone: 01843 235094
  • William Harvey Hospital, Ashford
    Telephone: 01233 616691