Assessment and signposting
Speak to your GP first.
If you have been struggling with persistent pain for over 12 weeks, there are lots of helpful local services available.
Chronic pain has many causes, such as arthritis, back problems, an old injury, illness or nerve damage.
Your first stop should always be your GP so you can discuss your persistent pain in all its forms.
Other people to speak to
After you’ve had a conversation with your GP, there are a number of other people you can talk to when deciding how best to access the support you need to live well with chronic pain:
- Healthy Lifestyle Advisors
- Social Prescribers
- Care Co-ordinators
- Health Equity and Inclusion Service
Healthy Lifestyles Advisors
Our Healthy Lifestyles Advisors work together with you for 12 weeks to find ways you can reach your healthy lifestyles goals.
Advisors provide tailored, free advice and support to help achieve health goals of weight loss, getting active, eating well and/or stopping smoking.
Appointments are either weekly or fortnightly, in 1-1s or groups, and can be in-person, via video call or over the phone.
Find out more about our Healthy Lifestyles Advisors service
How to access Healthy Lifestyles Advisors?
Complete the online self-referral form or ask your GP or doctor’s surgery staff to make a referral on your behalf.
Social Prescribers
Social Prescribers provide a free service connecting people to activities, groups, and services in their community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing.
They focus on what really matters to the individual to produce a simple personalised care and support plan together, which will support anyone living with chronic pain to take control of their health and wellbeing.
Social Prescribers also support existing community groups to be accessible and sustainable, and help people to start new groups, working collaboratively with all local partners.
How to access Social Prescribers?
Ask your GP or doctor’s surgery staff to make a referral on your behalf.
Care Co-ordinators
Care Co-ordinators help to co-ordinate and navigate care across the health and care system, helping people make the right connections, with the right teams at the right time.
They can support people to become more active in their own health and care and are skilled in assessing people’s changing needs. Care Co-ordinators are effective in bringing together multidisciplinary teams to support people’s complex health and care needs.
How to access Care Co-ordinators?
Ask your GP or doctor’s surgery staff to make a referral on your behalf.
Health Equity and Inclusion Service
This service is provided by Sirona care & health to support people to improve their ability to self-manage pain, increase motivation levels and make a commitment to change their lifestyle.
They are experts in behaviour change and focus on improving health-related outcomes by working together to set personalised goals.
How to access Health Equity and Inclusion Service?
Ask your GP or doctor’s surgery staff to make a referral on your behalf.
