UCT Medical School – Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine (Chronic Pain Management Clinic)

UCT Medical School – Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine (Chronic Pain Management Clinic)

UCT Medical School – Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine (Chronic Pain Management Clinic)

International recognition for the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine as an outstanding clinical care, training, and research provider. Acute Pain Service, Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia, Chronic Pain Management Clinic, Critical Care, and Pediatric Anaesthesia are just a few of our divisions.

The department is housed in Groote Schuur Hospital, the University of Cape Town’s primary teaching hospital, and offers a comprehensive range of primary tertiary services, including all major surgical disciplines. The teaching hospitals connected to the Faculty of Health Sciences receive anesthesia services.

They take great pride in having given the world’s first heart transplant anesthesia, and we still have a keen interest in cardiac anesthesia. Anesthesia apparatus and related objects from the 1800s are on display at the Nagin Parbhoo Museum.

Chronic Pain Management Clinic

A group of medical health professionals, including anesthetists, physiotherapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists, work together in the Chronic Pain Management Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital to provide comprehensive chronic pain assessments, multi-modal treatment, and recommendations.

Our mission is to work with patients to help them regain their highest level of usefulness through cost-effective and thorough therapy.

Our approach includes a designed outpatient, group-based Chronic Pain Management approach, which is one of its special features. Patients will take an active role in their own care thanks to this initiative. Our treatment strategy will include patient education about diagnosis, treatment, and self-management techniques.

We stress a return to normal function and a life free from continuing surgery and investigations as opposed to the elusive cure, which in most circumstances, does not exist.
 
Who are we?
The Centre for Pain Management at Groote Schuur Hospital is all qualified professionals who have a dedicated interest in the treatment of chronic pain.
Staff are all registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and have extensive knowledge of the management of chronic pain.
Dr Janieke van Nugteren
Anaesthesiologist 
MB BCh (Wits), FCA (SA)
Head of Chronic Pain Management Unit
Psychiatry
Louise Frenkel
Principal Psychologist
MA Clin. Psych
Dr. Romy Parker
Physiotherapist
Ph.D. (Psych)
MSc(Pain)
BSc(Med)(Hons)Ex.Sci(Phys)BSc(Phys)
 
What do we treat?
The Centre for Pain Management manages various conditions associated with chronic pain.
Some common conditions seen at the Centre for Pain Management are:-

• Post-herpetic neuralgia (Shingles)
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
• Persistent post-surgical pain
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Pancreatic pain
• Chronic neck pain
• Cancer pain
• Chronic non-surgical back pain /Failed back surgery pain
• Diabetic nerve pain
• Multiple sclerosis pain
• Phantom pain

What treatment options do we provide?
The treatment options offered by the Centre for Pain Management will vary from patient to patient.
All treatment is tailored to the specific nature of the particular pain disorder experienced by an individual.

A unique pain plan will be drawn up with the patient in the center.
It will be up to each patient to decide what is suitable for him or her.
The staff of the Centre will not, under any circumstances, coerce any patient to undergo any form of therapy that is not acceptable.
The emphasis once again is on management and not cure.
The following is the range of therapies offered:-

• Interventional procedures
• Medication optimization
• Chronic Pain Management Courses
• Psychological and Psychiatric support
• Patient Education
• Exercise programs

Referral Policy
The Centre for Pain Management at Groote Schuur Hospital only accepts patients on referral (ideally from a specialist) in whom a working diagnosis has been made.
Health Care Providers: Click here to download the referral form
A referral letter stating all the relevant information and investigations can be faxed or delivered to the clerk in E-26, and if it is felt that you will benefit from our treatment, we will give you an appointment time and date. If you are unsure about what information to give- our clerk has a referral form that can be faxed through.

Your initial evaluation will take approximately one hour and we encourage the attendance of significant others. After your first visit your case will be presented to a multi-disciplinary team who will advise further treatment strategies.
You will be given further appointments depending on the type of therapy that is suitable for your situation.

Your primary healthcare provider will be informed as to all our findings and therapeutic options.
The Centre for Pain Management is situated in the new Groote Schuur Hospital on Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town.

We are on the fifth or E floor.
The main entrance to the hospital is on the E floor and it is a long walk down Hospital Street to the Centre. If you are disabled in any way, a wheelchair will be provided.
There is ample secure parking in the hospital parking lots, for which a fee is charged.

Contact details:

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