It has undoubtedly been a challenging year and a half for all Welsh Pain Society members; yet all clinicians, responding to the pandemic, have not only delivered best possible care outside their usual areas of practice, but also improvised, to continue caring for their patients and maintaining their own service needs. It is indeed a matter of pride for all pain clinicians in Wales and the Welsh Pain Society members. The Welsh Pain Society council has also continued be active during this period, with excellent ongoing support from its membership.
We have been asked by the Welsh government representatives to support its proposed ‘Pain Network’ and develop Covid recovery plans of pain services, within Wales. A wide range of multi-professional members from the Welsh Pain Society are keenly looking forward to contributing to this ambitious project, due to its tremendous potential.
Welsh Pain Society committee continues to deliver on its continuing professional development agenda, with one highly successfully, virtual, annual scientific meeting (2020) and another one lined up (2021). Their recordings are available freely. This has been supplemented with regular webinars which, I hope, will now become the norm, and continue to be well-subscribed.
Welsh Pain Society is also expanding its council, by co-opting members with specific roles. The role of the co-opted ‘research and innovation lead’ will be to highlight the exciting innovations taking place within the Welsh pain services and help co-ordinate research activities, while that of the co-opted ‘medicines management lead’ will be to link in with the other medicines management groups in Wales. This adds to the other ongoing pieces of work our council members are undertaking on behalf of the WPS, South Wales network of acute pain teams (SwNAP) and other UK organisations including the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) and the British Pain Society (BPS).
Welsh Pain Society continues to represent the views of its members, and patient and public representatives. This representation is even more pertinent in the current post-pandemic climate where clinical guidance (such as the recent NICE CG-193) can easily be misunderstood.
As always, the Welsh Pain Society committee (and me as the Chair) are grateful to all colleagues who contribute to the running of the society and maintaining its high standards. During my two-year term as the chair of the Welsh Pain Society, I am truly humbled by the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes by its members. This is indeed a sign of a thriving society which will only grow stronger, with its new Chair, Non Griffiths.