NHS Pain Management Waiting Times
The average NHS Pain Management wait in England is 26 weeks, but it ranges from 6 weeks at Buckhurst Hill Essex Nuffield to 50 weeks elsewhere. That gap is yours to use — you have a legal right to choose where you are treated.
What Pain Management covers
Pain management, sometimes called the pain clinic or pain medicine, treats long-lasting pain that has not responded to normal treatment. It is not surgery. The clinic offers nerve blocks, steroid and facet joint injections, radiofrequency treatment, medication reviews, and pain rehabilitation programmes. Many people are referred here while waiting for, or instead of, an operation.
People are usually referred here for
- Long-term back or neck pain
- Sciatica or nerve pain
- Nerve blocks or steroid injections
- Fibromyalgia or widespread pain
- Pain after an operation that has not settled
- Complex regional pain syndrome
26w
Avg treatment wait
6w
Shortest wait
50w
Longest wait
137
Hospitals reporting
Find the shortest Pain Management wait near you
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Shortest Pain Management waits in England
| # | Hospital | Region | Avg treatment wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Buckhurst Hill Essex Nuffield | East of England | 6w |
| 02 | Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | South East | 9w |
| 03 | Fulwood Hall Hospital - Ramsay | North West | 9w |
| 04 | Mount Alvernia Hospital - Circle | South East | 10w |
| 05 | Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | North West | 10w |
| 06 | James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | East of England | 11w |
| 07 | Highgate Hospital (London) - Nuffield | London | 11w |
| 08 | Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust | South East | 12w |
| 09 | Birmingham Practice Plus Group | Midlands | 13w |
| 10 | The Shelburne Hospital - Circle | South East | 13w |
Average Pain Management wait by region
Procedures treated under Pain Management
Waiting lists are recorded by specialty, so all of these share the Pain Management wait times above.
Browse all conditions →Were you referred somewhere else?
The same problem is sometimes handled by a different department, and the wait can be very different. Check these too:
Your right to choose a Pain Management hospital
Under the NHS Constitution and the Health Act 2009, you have a legal right to choose which NHS or NHS-commissioned independent sector provider sees you for your first outpatient Pain Management appointment.
Your GP must refer you via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) and offer you at least five choices. If you have already been referred to a hospital with a long wait, you can ask your GP to re-refer you to a provider with a shorter wait. This is entirely within your rights.
Research shows the average extra distance to a significantly shorter wait is just 13 miles.
Read the full Pain Management Right to Choose guide →Ready to find a shorter Pain Management wait?
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