What we do
Our team of specialist pain management nurses are a vital source of expertise at the Trust. Staff at our hospitals use this team to understand more about acute and chronic pain management.
The team are involved in developing the service in a range of areas, including:
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clinical practice
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clinical services
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audits
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research
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education
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training initiatives
Each of the team are key in making sure that our patients have access to the right pain management services for them. The team works very closely with palliative care and cancer nursing teams, as many of patients in these areas need pain management.
Our pain management team also work closely with Chelsea and Westminster and The Royal Marsden hospitals. The three teams have recently created the Fulham Road Collaborative, which allows them to share knowledge and best practices.
Chronic pain management
Some our patients have persistent (chronic) pain. So our team have consultants in pain medicine available to support them. We provide services for outpatients with persistent post-surgical pain and refractory angina. We also have strong links with our surgical, transplant, cardiology and respiratory teams across the Trust.
Consultants
Royal Brompton Hospital
- Dr Ian Goodall MBBS FRCA FFPMRCOA - chronic pain in adults
Harefield Hospital
- Dr Sian Jaggar MBBS BSc FRCA FFPMRCA MD - pain in children and young people
- Dr Rahul Seewal MBBS MD FRCA FFPMRCA - chronic pain in adults
- Dr Glyn Towlerton BSc MBBS (hons) MRCP FRCA FIPP FFPMRCA - refractory angina
Find out how to get a referral for this team.
Pain management education
The team are heavily involved in education and teaching other healthcare professionals about pain management. They regularly speak at national and international meetings about pain management.
Within the Trust, the team works with the Trust's educational partners for undergraduate and specialist postgraduate courses. They use a variety of formats to educate such as medical journal clubs and workshops.
Referrals
If you think you need this service as a patient, you will your doctor to refer you. Our outpatient services include:
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treatment using pain-killing drugs
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links with the physiotherapy team
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links with the psychological medicine team
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links with our cancer, supportive and palliative care teams
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stimulation-based analgesia such as TENS
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the Angina Plan
Useful information
There are also a variety of online resources that you can use. These have advice about how people can self-manage their pain.
After qualification, Felicia worked as a perioperative nurse in Australia and then the UK. She has worked in pain management since 1997 and is the lead nurse specialist and head of pain services at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. She is the chair of the Royal College of Nursing Pain and Palliative Care Forum and was previously the chair of the London Pain Interest Group. She is a co-opted member of the Council of the British Pain Society.
Until 2009, she was the editor of the Journal of Perioperative Practice and she currently edits the British Journal of Pain for the British Pain Society. She has published widely, from the Daily Telegraph to The Lancet, with chapters and books in between. Her most recent book, Perioperative Pain Management, is included in the required reading for most postgraduate pain courses. She has also co-authored e-learning modules on pain and medicine safety and enjoys supporting novice authors and developing presenters’ skills.
Felicia represents nursing on the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) PAIN: Clinical Updates and is an active member of the RCNi Nursing Standard Evidence and Practice Advisory Board.
Felicia is a part-time visiting lecturer on a number of postgraduate courses at King’s College London, Imperial College and London Southbank University. Her clinical and research interests include medication safety, translating research into practice and persistent post-surgical and procedural pain.
Felicia represents nursing on a number of current projects including patient information, pain in disability and pain assessment in the older person. She was awarded Honorary Membership of the British Pain Society in 2015 and was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in 2017 for her contributions to nursing and pain management. Follow her on Twitter
Christina comes from a background of cardiothoracic nursing. She has a keen interest in post-operative pain management with the goal of reducing recovery time and length of stay. In 2014 she completed her Masters in Pain Management and is a member of the British Pain Society.
In addition, she enjoys teaching and sharing skills and knowledge of pain management with all professions working in our hospitals. Christina has a keen interest in continued evaluation and development of service and has just recently completed a joint audit with our pharmacy department exploring prescribing practices of pregabalin.
Fernando completed his BSc in Nursing in Porto, Portugal. Before joining the Royal Brompton team, he worked in a variety of departments including cardiology, neurosurgery, urology and oncology.
Since joining the pain management team in the trust, Fernando completed the pain management postgraduate module at King’s College London and is now working on a project to set up a pain assessment tool for level three areas in the Trust.
Charlotte qualified as a registered adult nurse from Kings College London university in 2011. She started her career as a thoracic surgical nurse and specialised in pain management in 2015. She has experience in managing both acute and chronic pain and has completed specialist training to enhance her skill and knowledge.
Charlotte graduated from Cardiff University in 2018 with an MSc in Pain Management with merit. She has also completed the advanced history taking and non-medical prescribing modules at Oxford Brookes University. Charlotte has a specialist interest in acute post-operative pain management and the management of chronic pain following surgery.