Consultants reveal chronic pain sufferers wait a year for treatment

on 21/02/2013 07:59:53

Chronic pain affects 13% of people in Ireland, but most have to wait over a year for diagnosis and treatment, according to the Faculty of Pain Medicine at the College of Anaesthetists of Ireland.

A major conference on chronic pain gets underway in Dublin today, and pain experts are calling on the Health Minister Dr James Reilly, to designate pain as a chronic disease in its own right.

Consultant Pain Physician at Tallaght Hospital, Dr Camillus Power, said it is a major problem that needs immediate attention.