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<p>The routine assessment and management of pain is a required competency of all healthcare
professionals. Many patients with chronic pain can be successfully supported and managed
through routine primary and secondary care pain management services. Approaches to
treatment are not all pharmacological; education in self-management techniques to
aid symptom control may also be appropriate for some patients.</p><p> </p><p>As set
out in the NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, low back and neck pain
is the greatest cause of years lost to disability, with chronic joint pain or osteoarthritis
affecting over 8.75 million people in the United Kingdom. In the Long Term Plan NHS
England committed to build on work already undertaken to ensure patients will have
direct access to musculoskeletal First Contact Practitioners (FCP). 98% of sustainability
and transformation partnerships have confirmed pilot sites for FCP and 55% of pilots
are already underway.</p><p> </p><p>NHS England will expand the number of physiotherapists
working in primary care networks, enabling people to see the right professional first
time, without needing a general practitioner referral. NHS England will also expand
access to support such as the online version of ESCAPE-pain, Enabling Self-management
and Coping with Arthritic Pain through Exercise, a digital version of the well-established,
face-to-face group programme.</p>
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