Monday 01 December 2025
Internal Reference Number: FOI_8814
Date Request Received: 04/08/2025 00:00:00
Date Request Replied To: 02/10/2025 00:00:00
This response was sent via: By Email
Request Summary: Treatment modalities for PNP
Request Category: Private Individuals
| Question Number 1: Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am requesting aggregate information regarding services provided or commissioned by your Trust in relation to peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP), with a specific focus on: - Post-surgical neuropathic pain (PSNP) - Cancer-related neuropathic pain (CRNP) - Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN) Please break down the information by individual service, clinic, and by hospital site. Patient Numbers & Treatment Modalities (Last 12 Months) For each hospital site or service, please provide: The number of patients seen for each of the following conditions: - PSNP - CRNP (please split into surgically induced and chemotherapy-induced) - PDPN - Please also break this down by hospital department. Treatment Modalities For each hospital site or service, please indicate Yes or No as to whether the following treatment modalities are available for PNP. Where stated yes please provide patient numbers for the latest 12-month period. • Gabapentin prescriptions • Botulinum toxin (Botox) injections • TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) • Acupuncture (including PENS – Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) • Theatre-based nerve stimulation procedures (e.g., spinal cord stimulators or other implanted/surgical neuromodulation devices) If exact numbers are unavailable, proxy data is acceptable (e.g., the percentage of neuropathic pain patients receiving each treatment modality). | |
| Answer To Question 1: Please see our response to Q1 in the file attached - (**this answers part 1 of the question but awaiting clarification before part 2 could be answered) Medicine response : No specific treatment modalities provided through the chronic pain service beyond a medications review with recommendations about any changes sent to GP for actioning. To accompany this answer to question 1 please also see the documents listed below:  13173 - FOI_8814 - Treatment modalities for PNP.xlsx | |
| Question Number 2: Service Provision Does your Trust or provider offer specific or dedicated services for PSNP, CRNP, and/or PDPN? - If yes, please list each relevant service or site (e.g., pain clinic, neurology clinic, diabetic foot clinic, community pain service) along with their addresses. For each listed site or service, please indicate: - The types of healthcare professionals routinely involved (e.g., pain specialists, neurologists, specialist nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists) - The number of staff per role (headcount or FTE if available) | |
| Answer To Question 2: No specific/dedicated pathway within the chronic pain service. Consultant Anaesthetists 0.4 WTE, Physiotherapists 1.0 WTE, OT 0.4 WTE | |
| Question Number 3: Referral Pathways & Service Specifications Are there established care pathways, referral criteria, or service specifications for PSNP, CRNP, and/or PDPN? - If yes, please supply relevant documents or summaries. - If not, please clarify whether these conditions fall under broader chronic pain, MSK, diabetes, or oncology pathways. | |
| Answer To Question 3: No specific/dedicated pathway within the chronic pain service. | |
| Question Number 4: Clinical Guidelines, Protocols, Strategic Plans Has the Trust developed or contributed to any strategic plans, business cases, or service specifications for PSNP, CRNP, or PDPN? - If so, please provide relevant documents, including any timelines and associated funding information. Are there any specific clinical guidelines, care pathways, or treatment protocols in use? For example: - NICE CG173 - NEUPSIG - Local pathways for diabetes- or oncology-related neuropathy - If yes, please provide copies or summaries of key components. | |
| Answer To Question 4: No specific/dedicated pathways within the chronic pain service. | |
| Question Number 5: Funding & Budgets What was the total expenditure on neuropathic pain services in the most recent full financial year? - If no specific figure is available, please provide overall pain management funding and any known distribution (e.g., primary/community vs secondary care). - Please indicate the type of funding, e.g. tariff or block contract | |
| Answer To Question 5: We do not record expenditure on neuropathic pain treatment. In 24-25 we spent £79k on Acute Pain Service but no further breakdown is available. | |
| Question Number 6: Planned or Recent Service Changes Are there any recent, ongoing, or planned changes to: - Commissioning arrangements - Referral pathways - Service structure - Clinical treatment options for PSNP, CRNP, or PDPN? If yes, please provide details, including the relevant sites, timelines, and the rationale for these changes. | |
| Answer To Question 6: No changes planned at this present time. | |
| Question Number 7: Data Format and Guidance Please provide all data in a machine-readable format (e.g., Excel or CSV). - If any part of the request is unclear or may exceed appropriate cost/time limits, please contact me to discuss refinement, in accordance with Section 16 of the FOI Act. | |
| Answer To Question 7: Granular funding to support the total cost of £79k is not available. Funding is related to secondary care and funding type is block funding. | |
| Please see Attachments: | |
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Our staff at Salisbury District Hospital have long been well regarded for the quality of care and treatment they provide for our patients and for their innovation, commitment and professionalism. This has been recognised in a wide range of achievements and it is reflected in our award of NHS Foundation Trust status. This is afforded to hospitals that provide the highest standards of care.
