A project empowering people to live well with chronic pain has been hailed a success.
Green and Healthy Frome partnered with Frome Medical Practice to introduce a Chronic Pain Initiative exploring holistic approaches to pain management.
Patients were invited to take part in structured medication reviews, explore alternative approaches to pain management and engage in the Ten Footsteps course – a supportive face-to-face programme designed to empower self-management and help people live well with persistent pain.
Pain Cafés also provided welcoming spaces for people to connect and share experiences, encouraging one another on their journey. The approach was not about reducing medication but about offering choice, support and the resources needed to live well with pain.
A spokesperson for Green and Healthy Frome, Annabel Crooke, said, “Chronic pain has traditionally been managed using a range of approaches, including medicines such as gabapentinoids and opioids, which can play an important role in short-term pain relief. As the evidence base has grown, NICE guidance began to place greater emphasis on reviewing long-term use and supporting people with a broader, more holistic approach to pain management.
“At Frome Medical Practice – a leading practice in sustainability and green impact – there is a strong commitment to improving care for patients and communities, from day-to-day clinical practice to developing innovative projects and wider system change. Recognising that some patients were established on long-term pain medications before this shift in guidance, Dr Georgina Kirby and her team set out to improve care further by exploring a supportive and sustainable approach, helping people regain control over their pain and improve their quality of life.”
With funding from Green and Healthy Frome, the Chronic Pain Initiative invited patients to take part in structured medication reviews.
Annabel said, “Most importantly, patients reported increased life satisfaction and happiness, a stronger sense that life felt worthwhile and a significant reduction in anxiety. Many also described an improved ability to take part in everyday activities and live a more normal, active life. Encouragingly, 37% of patients invited to engage with the programme responded.
“Of those who took part, 54% reduced or stopped their pain medication, and over half were referred to a pain self-management programme: Ten Footsteps programme.
“The benefits extend beyond individual human health. Globally, the pharmaceutical industry has a carbon footprint larger than that of the automotive industry, and within the NHS in England, medicines account for around 25% of total carbon emissions each year. Every reduction in unnecessary medication represents a small but meaningful environmental gain.
“Green and Healthy Frome highlights how individual health choices are deeply interconnected with wider systems, showing that it is possible to create a future in which both people and the planet can thrive.”
