asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Whether they intend to carry out an audit of the current provision of services for the treatment of pain in England. [HL4755]

The department has no current plans to carry out an audit of the provision of pain services in England. The newly formed National Clinical Audit Advisory Group is considering topics for future audits, and we will bring this to its attention.

asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What progress has been made into provision of services for the treatment of pain since the recommendation of the Clinical Standards Advisory Services Group report on services for NHS patients with acute and chronic pain in 2000. [HL4756]

It is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) to commission services for people with pain, taking into account resources they have available, the needs of their wider population and available guidance on best practice. The quality of services should be monitored locally to ensure it is provided to meet the needs of the local population. The department is supporting commissioning through the recent publication of an 18-week pathway for the management and treatment of chronic pain. NHS Choices has also provided information that will raise the awareness of chronic pain and treatments.

As part of the NHS next stage review, which I lead, working groups of local clinicians in each strategic health authority have carried out a detailed review of clinical pathways across all areas of healthcare, and have identified what they believe to be the best models of care for local patients. The results have now been published and PCTs will now be responsible for working out in discussion with local partners, patients and the general public how best to commission the proposed improvements.