Hospitals and healthcare providers who leave older people languishing in pain should be penalised, according to three fifths (62 per cent) of GB adults. The new research launched by Help the Aged, also found nearly half the adult population (47 per cent) are not confident that health professionals can alleviate pain in older people effectively.
According to a new Help the Aged report, Pain in Older People: Reflections and experiences from an older person's perspective, nearly five million people aged 65 and over are in some degree of pain or discomfort. The Charity is warning that implicit ageism and patchy services mean older people are often deprived of dignity and left in excruciating pain. Help the Aged is calling for the Department of Health to recognise pain in older people as an urgent public health issue by making assessment of the way healthcare providers manage pain compulsory.
The Help the Aged research also found that:
• More than half of adults (53 per cent) think health professionals typically dismiss pain in older people as ‘old age';
• Two fifths of adults (38 per cent) said if older people complain of pain, health professionals think they are complaining unnecessarily;
• More than half of adults (55 per cent) wrongly think being in pain is an inevitable part of growing older.
Paul Cann, Director of Policy and External Relations for Help the Aged, says: “Despite assumptions to the contrary, pain is not an inevitable part of growing older. It must not be tolerated, either by older people themselves or those responsible for their care. Ageism and patchy services mean that all too often, older people are left in harmful, unnecessary and sometimes excruciating pain. Pain is exhausting – it undermines dignity, changes personality and drastically reduces quality of life. It is also likely to be under-reported. With millions of older people living in pain, it's imperative that the Department of Health, regulatory bodies, the NHS and social care agencies all work together to ensure pain is managed. The first step is ensuring healthcare providers are monitored and assessed on how well they manage pain in patients. If older people using health and social care services are to be treated with dignity, pain must be addressed.”
Pain in Older People: Reflections and experiences from an older person's perspective, outlines recommendations for government and policy makers, regulatory and professional bodies, the NHS and social care agencies. These include:
• Better assessment and monitoring of the extent to which healthcare providers support older people to manage pain;
• Health and social care authorities should provide pain management programmes to teach older people about pain – how best to cope with it and how to live a more active life;
• Specialist pain services need to be tailored to older people and made more accessible;
• Education and training programmes for all health and social care staff working with older people should include pain assessment and management.
For a copy of Pain in Older People: Reflections and experiences from an older person's perspective, please visit www.helptheaged.org.uk