A rehabilitation services company is piloting a pain management programme to support people in their employment, which could be replicated around the country.
RTW Plus has created the Living Well with Pain Programme which comprises three workshops to support people in their long-term employability by learning how to manage chronic pain.
The programme is currently recruiting participants in Lambeth, South London, having secured funding from Black Thrive Lambeth and the Guy’s and St Thomas Charity to run the project until April 2022.
And the programme – which offers group support over three modular workshops with pain management strategies, working with chronic pain and career redirection – is one which could be rolled out elsewhere in the country, in partnership with local bodies, to help more people at a time when many have again become office-based after home-working or unemployment during the pandemic.
“This is designed to help people in work, or who have fallen out of work, and are struggling with pain to better manage with their situation,” says Dr Devdeep Ahuja, clinical director of RTW Plus.
“For those in work, we are helping them to know how to talk to their employer about this, and what adjustments could be made.
“For people looking to get back into work, we can assist with getting them ready for that, and with when is the right time to disclose this to potential employers what support can they give.
“The feedback we have had so far has been phenomenal and we hope to recruit more people before April. Recruitment has been made harder through not being able to physically go into GP surgeries as we could before the pandemic, but word is spreading so we do hope to find many more people who could benefit from this.”
RTW Plus is a prominent name in pain management, having founded the International Chronic Pain Virtual Summit attended by over 8,000 delegates and created its own tech-led RESTORE programme for clients.
The business is hoping its expertise in the field, as well as the creation of a replicable formula in its Living Well with Pain, will mean other areas may also adopt the programme.
“If we can demonstrate the value of the programme in Lambeth, then we can take it to local authorities and charities across the UK. This gives us a template for how we could do it elsewhere,” says Dr Ahuja.
“With pain management, there is a lot of one-to-one work which can be very expensive, but with these group workshops you can have many people attending at one time and it is scaleable.
“We hope through greater access to the programme, more people will be able to have access to our pain management strategies, which can deliver long-term benefits to their lives.”
