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This page was last updated at 3:58PM on May 6, 2013

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Public Service

Counties Manukau Health Chronic Pain Service

Hours

Outpatient Clinic Hours:
Tuesday and Wednesday
08:00am - 04:30pm


Pukekohe Clinic Hours:
Every second Friday
08.30am - 12.00pm

Description

Chronic pain is usually described as pain lasting greater than 6 months. Chronic pain may or may not be associated with a disease or injury. It often lasts longer than expected for the usual course for a disease or injury. Chronic pain reduces a person's ability to function and impacts on their quality of life and emotional wellbeing.
More than 20% of New Zealanders experience chronic pain and the impact of pain often extends to family and friends.

Some of the most common chronic pain conditions are:
  • Musculoskeletal pain disorders e.g. chronic back pain, chronic neck or shoulder pain, fibromyalgia
  • Neuropathic pain
  • Phantom limb pain
  • Headache
  • Facial Pain
  • Atypical chest pain(s)
  • Abdominal pain with or without Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Pelvic pain/endometriosis

 

The Counties Manukau Health Chronic Pain Service aims to provide quality chronic pain assessment and intervention that is accessible and appropriate for the people of South Auckland. 

The Chronic Pain Service (CPS) includes professionals from a wide range of disciplines.  They all have experience in assessment and management of pain from their professional perspective.  The CPS team may include anaesthetists, nurse, physiotherapists, psychiatrist, psychologists and musculoskeletal consultant.

Our aim is to restore functional ability and enable individuals to live as independently as possible despite their pain.

Pain management involves learning different ways of thinking and acting so that pain interferes less with life.  A self-management approach requires an individual and their whanau to play an active role in their pain management and emphasises an improvement in quality of life and function, rather than a cure.

 Our Team

 Martyn Seay

 Anaesthetist

 Jonathan Kuttner

 Musculoskeletal Consultant

 Keith Laubscher

 Anaesthetist Pain Consultant

 Frances James

 Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Leader

 Aislinn Carr

 Clinical Nurse Specialist

 Lisa Ford

 Physiotherapist

 Lynnette Dalglish

 Health Psychologist

 Paul Vroegop

 Psychiatrist

 Nicola Rae

 Intern Health Psychologist

 Angela Spurdle

 Physiotherapist

 Claire Bagnall

 Physiotherapist

Referral Expectations

The Chronic Pain Service provides a service for residents within the Counties Manukau Health area.  
We prefer to work in collaboration with your general practitioner (GP) and expect that all referrals will be made in consultation with the GP. If you think you might benefit from our services please talk to your GP about this.
 
All referrals are reviewed by a multidisciplinary team who assess the appropriateness of the referral, then discuss the most appropriate team member to see you and establish a priority rating for how urgently you need to be seen.
 
A questionnaire is routinely sent out to all prospective patients. The questionnaire allows us to understand more about the pain and the impact it has on the person’s life. This improves the quality of our assessment. 
 
We can offer assistance in completing the questionnaire if people are finding it difficult.
 
Assessment
The multidisciplinary comprehensive pain assessment (or “triple assessment”) usually involves two appointments on one day. During the first appointment you will meet a specialist doctor and a member of the psychosocial team. In the second appointment you will see a physiotherapist. Each assessment will take 45-90 minutes. 
 
During the Medical Assessment the specialist doctor will ask about your current pain, medication that you have had in the past and that you currently take. The doctor will review your previous assessment reports and test results. Following this the doctor will talk to you about your pain condition.
 
A Psychosocial Assessment will explore ways that your pain is impacting upon your life and how you are currently managing this. The staff will listen to what issues you feel are most challenging and important to you.
 
The Physiotherapist aims to identify your current abilities and any challenges regarding movement and daily activities and how pain has impacted on your ability to manage. Each assessment looks at your strengths and the strategies that you have developed for coping with the pain.
 
After the three assessments the team will talk together about a treatment plan. They may ask you about options during the assessments.   A member of the team will discuss the recommendations with you after the discussion has occurred.
 
Chronic pain often needs to be addressed with small changes in many areas. Some of these may be lifestyle changes. There is often education about pain and an individualised programme for making changes to improve quality of life.

Charges

There are no charges for services to public patients if you are lawfully in New Zealand and meet one of the Eligibility Directions specified criteria set by the Ministry of Health.  If you do not meet the criteria, you will be required to pay for the full costs of any medical treatment you receive during your stay.  To check whether you meet the specified eligibility criteria, visit the Ministry of Health website.

The only exception to this is for the treatment of accidents where the cost of treatment can be paid for by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). 

For any applicable charges, please phone the Accounts Receivable Office on (09) 276 0060.

Refreshments

Food and refreshments can be purchased by the general public and staff at the cafe situated within Manukau SuperClinic™.

Superclinic Delimarche
7.00am - 3.30pm (Monday - Friday)
Located left of the main entrance.

Parking

Free parking is available for patients visiting the Manukau SuperClinic™.  All patient parking is clearly signposted around the Clinic. 
 
Disabled Parking spaces can be found near most of the entrances around the hospital. Please ensure you display an authorised disabled parking pass at all times.
 
Patients may be set down or picked up from outside the main entrance.  Please consider others and remove cars as soon as possible.
 
There is a taxi stand available alongside the main entrance of the Clinic. 

Website

www.countiesmanukau.health.co.nz

Other

For information about parking, refreshments, travel directions, transport, accommodation, support services and maps, view the Manukau SuperClinic website.

Location Information

Contact Details

Phone (09) 277 1660
Fax (09) 277 1600
Email customerservice@middlemore.co.nz

Manukau SuperClinic has a Call Centre to receive incoming calls related to outpatient services.
The Call Centre is open to receive calls between 8.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

Street Address

901 Great South Road
Manurewa
Auckland

Postal Address

Chronic Pain Service
Referrals & Appointment Centre
Manukau SuperClinic
PO Box 98743
Manukau 2241

Map & more information

Click here for a map and more information about this location.