Chronic pain in the elderly is neglected

The survey questioned 3,000 carers of patients over the age of 65 living with chronic pain. The YouGov data also revealed that:

• Seventy-three per cent of carers said that because of the chronic pain, their patient were less able to cope with everyday life.
• Just over half of the carers said that their pain was managed adequately, but not very well.
• When investigating how often healthcare professionals review the patient’s pain, 39 per cent of the carers said the review was never or only occasionally.

Carers also felt that there was an over-reliance on the use of medication and less than one-third of healthcare professionals saw a positive outcome for the patients.

Karen Murphy from the Patients Association concluded: ‘It is clear that older people’s chronic pain is till being neglected. GPs need more education on managing pain and ensuring carers and the general public have better access to the information available on pain management solutions.’