Accessing persistent pain management services
Queensland Health’s persistent pain services are for people who require a team approach to managing their complex pain. These specialist pain services follow the latest research, which focuses living well and learning strategies and skills to help people manage their pain.
How persistent pain specialist services work
Queensland’s persistent pain management services have skilled teams that understand pain and have expertise in wellbeing for complex persistent pain. These services rely on patients and/or their carers to take an active role in learning self-management techniques, and on GPs to be the central healthcare professional supporting care.
There are 6 clinics across Queensland:
- Queensland Interdisciplinary Paediatric Persistent Pain Service
- North Queensland Persistent Pain Management Service
- Sunshine Coast Persistent Pain Management Service
- Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre (Brisbane northside)
- Metro South Pain Rehabilitation Centre (Brisbane southside)
- Gold Coast Interdisciplinary Persistent Pain Centre
Learn more about the service locations and the regions they service.
Health professionals at these pain services can include:
- Specialist doctors in pain and rehabilitation
- Psychiatrists
- Nurses
- Psychologists
- Physiotherapists
- Occupational therapists
- Pharmacists
- Music therapists
- Allied health assistants
The self-management approach
Self-management is an active process. It involves learning about your pain and practising skills daily to support your lived experience and overall quality of life. This approach is backed by pain research to be the best way to control persistent pain in the long term.
Self-management:
- focuses on you taking control of your pain management by making and participating in decisions
- requires you to build skills to improve day-to-day living despite pain
- involves acceptance that pain management may not take the pain away completely
- work with others who support your pain management
- involves tracking your progress to achieve success and reflection.
What are the benefits
Patients of these services benefit by:
- accessing to a team of health professionals that understand persistent pain
- learning skills and strategies to feel in charge and in control of pain and their body
- learning skills to help in other areas of life including coping with school or work stresses and other health conditions
- social benefits of meeting other people with a similar lived experience and learning.
How to access persistent pain services
As specialist pain services, Queensland Health persistent pain services are only accessible by referral from a medical officer, such as a GP.
Persistent pain is a complex issue, and not everyone who experiences persistent pain is suited for a persistent pain service. Your GP will work with you to help decide if the service is best for you and your needs and will assess your situation to see if you’re eligible for referral.
The referral process
If your GP is progressing to a referral, they will start the process. Some services require potential patients complete a pain questionnaire as part of the referral, your GP will let you know if you or your parent/carer need to complete it. Everyone’s pain is unique, so these pain questionnaires are vital to help persistent pain teams understand how pain affects you and your family.
The service will assess your referral and contact your GP with the outcome. If it’s been accepted, you and your GP will be notified in writing along with how long you can expect to wait for your first appointment.
What happens if you aren’t accepted?
If your referral is not accepted, the service will notify your GP. Your GP is the best person to explain why.
Some reasons may include:
- there may not be enough information on the referral or further investigations need to be carried out
- your needs may be better met with a different service provider or in a different setting
- it may not be the best time for the persistent pain service to get involved particularly if you are actively receiving treatment from other specialists for your pain.
It’s not uncommon for people to have seen many healthcare professionals and explore different treatments in their pain journey. This is why the GP plays a central role to your care coordination.
Service locations
Persistent pain services may service multiple Hospital and Health Service areas, your GP can check which service is right for your referral. If you are unsure which Hospital and Health Service you are in, please refer to the Hospital and Health Services map.
| Hospital and Health Service region | Persistent Pain Service | Age limit |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide | ||
| All regions | Queensland Interdisciplinary Paediatric Persistent Pain Service | Up to 17 years, or completion of secondary school |
| Regional Queensland | ||
Torres and Cape York | North Queensland Persistent Pain Management Service | No age limit |
Central West | North Queensland Persistent Pain Management Service | No age limit |
| Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre | 16 years and over | |
| Central Queensland | Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre | 16 years and over |
Darling Downs | Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre | 16 years and over |
Gold Coast Interdisciplinary Persistent Pain Centre | 16 years and over | |
| West Moreton | Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre | 16 years and over |
Gold Coast Interdisciplinary Persistent Pain Centre | 16 years and over | |
| Metro South Pain Rehabilitation Centre | 16 years and over | |
| Sunshine Coast Persistent Pain Management Service | No age limit | |
Wide Bay | Sunshine Coast Persistent Pain Management Service | No age limit |
| Gold Coast | Gold Coast Interdisciplinary Persistent Pain Centre | 16 years and over |
| Brisbane | ||
| Metro North | Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre | 16 years and over |
| Metro South | Metro South Pain Rehabilitation Centre | 16 years and over |