Using pain control before psychoactive medicines

Using pain control before psychoactive medicines podcast

This podcast clip is 2 minutes 28 seconds long. It describes how care staff considered pain relief as a potential trigger for behavioural expressions of need and the impact of this over time.

Consent has been gained from all those who shared their stories.

Information about 'using pain control before psychoactive medicines'

Please note: These are examples of what staff have done that have led to better outcomes for the people involved. However, it is important to recognise they will not suit everyone’s needs but serve to offer potential suggestions and to encourage you to explore alternative solutions that may help. Each example is the result of firstly getting to know and understand the individual, being curious to find solutions to providing better care and closely monitoring the outcomes of any changes made. If initiating suggestions given from the stories shared, we would encourage you to safeguard that person-centred care is in place and that you complement your learning from these stories with the relevant training needed to ensure you have the confidence and knowledge required.

Now take time to reflect.

Think of an individual you support…

Would this advice work for the person you support?

What else do you need to think about?

How can you implement this? What help do you need to do this?

Do you disagree with any aspect of the video?

Links to more resources about 'using pain control before psychoactive medicines'

  1. The Abbey Pain Scalelink to external website is used to assess the pain in people who cannot verbalise i.e. people with dementia or communication difficulties.
    Reference: Abbey, J; De Bellis, A; Piller, N; Esterman, A; Giles, L; Parker, D and Lowcay, B. Funded by the JH & JD Gunn Medical Research Foundation 1998 – 2002.
  2. PainChecklink to external website is an AI-driven technology with user-guided features that can be used to identify a persons’ pain with consistency. This includes those who cannot verbalise their pain, those who can self-report, and those who fluctuate between the two. Please note that there is a cost to using PainCheck.

General links for all resources