Completed Research Project
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Pain Project
Investigators: Goucke, R., Williams,
A. M., Davis, S., Fairclough, D., Griffiths, G.,
Hellier, L., Keen, N., Kristjanson,
L. J., Oldham,
L., Roberts, L., Singh, M., Stiberc, J., & Tandon,
A.
Funding: National Institutions of Clinical Studies
(In kind support).
Abstract: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital was one of eight of Australia’s high volume cancer hospitals that were chosen to take part in the first national pain management improvement project in Australia. Coordinated by the National Institute for Clinical Studies (NICS), this project tackled the under-treatment of pain for patients with cancer. The pilot project was initiated after NICS identified the assessment and management of pain as an area where there is a significant gap between best available evidence and current clinical practice. The pilot project aimed to improve the day-to-day management of cancer patients’ pain, initially by providing hospital teams with tools and strategies to help them overcome the organisational, clinical and patient barriers to effective pain management. The other participating hospitals were: Royal Perth, WA; Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Royal Adelaide, SA; Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Vic; Newcastle Mater Misericordiae, NSW; Westmead, NSW, and Royal Brisbane & Women’s, QLD. The NICS Pain project aimed initially to improve the management of pain in patients with cancer, beginning with inpatients with a view to spread to outpatients and ultimately into community care. Considerable changes in the assessment and management of pain were achieved during the project. A research project using the Action Research method is currently being used to introduce the pain protocol, developed during the NICS project, in four other wards. A Pain Management Committee has been established and strategies are currently being developed to improve pain management across the hospital using a multi-dimensional approach.
