Southport and Formby NHS pain service shortlisted for national award

NHS pain service shortlisted for national award

A service run by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust has been nationally recognised for making a meaningful difference to the lives of people living with chronic pain in Souhtport and Formby.

The Community Pain Service, in conjunction with Pain Clinic Plus, is one of 18 finalists that have been shortlisted from 300 entries from across the country in ‘The Good Help Award’ for being an exemplar of ‘good help practice.’ The awards, operated by charity Nesta, were launched earlier this year to recognise and reward an organisation or team that demonstrates they are helping people transform their lives by helping them develop their sense of purpose and confidence to take action.

The service supports people with chronic pain and as a finalist has been awarded £1,000 for getting so far in the awards. The service now has the opportunity to win £15,000 if they win or £5,000 as runners up. Winners are expected to spend the money on activities that support their ‘good help’ work.

Dr Becky Simm, Senior Clinical Psychologist in the Community Pain Service at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We have been shortlisted as we are deemed to be providing good help that makes a meaningful difference to people’s lives, and helps people’s sense of purpose and confidence to act. Our good help approach has been developed in partnership with the people we aim to help and the judges identified some sterling examples of good practice in ‘good help’ and building a ‘good help’ movement.”

The Community Pain Service operates from Ainsdale Centre for Health & Wellbeing to support people with chronic pain. It also operates a volunteer support group for service users (Pain Clinic Plus) which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

Nesta is an innovation foundation that acts through a combination of practical programmes, investment, policy and research, and the formation of partnerships to promote innovation across a broad range of sectors.

Winners will be announced on 13 September 2018. For more information about the Good Help Award, visit www.goodhelp.challenges.org.