BY DOROTHY GRACE-ELDER

CAMPAIGNING FORMER MSP

Scotland’s chronic pain services are in meltdown due to long-term staffing shortages and lack of funding.

Those facing longest waiting lists are returning patients with conditions such as severe back pain, or fibromyalgia, and injuries which require pain-relieving injections.

It is scandalous that, in a modern country, anyone should feel driven to ending their life because their constant pain cannot be relieved on time by treatments patients know will work.

We believe this has gone beyond being a scandal. It is a human rights issue.

The Government estimates around 800,000 people suffer chronic pain but few reach specialist clinics.

The stories we’ve heard from those who have had to give up jobs, careers, and hope of living as normal a life as possible, are simply heart-breaking.

Particularly when so much of their suffering would be alleviated by having the right treatment delivered on time.

The Scottish Government’s response has been to create four pain service improvement committees in the last 10 years, three of those are now defunct, without the least sign of tackling the staffing crisis.

The problem will not go away on its own.

About a thousand new pain patients are referred every month.

We need accurate statistics to tell us what happens to these people once they have been seen for the first time.

It will be some time before we can see the true human cost of the many thousands of invisible returning chronic pain patients who spend their lives on ever growing waiting lists.