A message from the CEO

Painaustralia was pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Ian Chubb AC MSc DPhil (Oxford) FAA, FTSE, FACE, FRSN as Chairman Elect to the Board of Directors.  Professor Chubb’s research focused on the neurosciences, making him an excellent appointment in the area of understanding the science of pain and evidence-based treatments. Prof Chubb’s experience and insights together with his record of achievement will be a tremendous asset to the organisation, as well as the millions of people living with chronic pain.

Painaustralia has been very fortunate to have Mr Robert Regan, Group General Counsel for a major listed public company, as Chairman for the past seven years.   His record of achievements as Chairman have led up to the emergence of pain as a major public health issue, the National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management being considered by health ministers and the Federal Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, pledging funding for Painaustralia to implement important pain awareness and education activities. 

Painaustralia’s media release is available here.

The National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management developed by Painaustralia in collaboration with all key stakeholders is now being considered by the chief health and medical officers of states and territories with the next step being the Australian Health Ministers Council.  Painaustralia together with our founding members, the Australian Pain Society and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Faculty of Pain Medicine have collectively been meeting and discussing jurisdictional approaches to the Action Plan with key government officials and ministerial advisory staff.  It is certainly an exciting time when we are on the cusp of achieving a national approach to pain management that has the endorsement of all Australian health ministers.

There have been some significant new developments in Australia’s regulatory responses to opioid related harm in the community with announcements made by Minister for Health Greg Hunt and the TGA in past weeks.  Together with a comprehensive national response to pain management including awareness, access to a range of interdisciplinary treatments and research, Australia will be in a better position to manage the growing implications of pain conditions.  

It has been a busy period for consultation, including the TGA’s workshops on a new Action Plan for Medical Devices and a targeted consultation on publishing listed (complementary) medicine compliance outcomes. We were also involved in the Capital Health Network’s Needs Assessment workshop, a  Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) meeting to discuss improvements in the labelling and counselling for opioids by pharmacists, the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia’s Medicines Leadership Forum and the Tasmanian forum on the development of a statewide response to pain management in the lead up to the health ministers meeting.

A busy Spring sitting period has also heralded plenty of Canberra based events involving visiting stakeholder groups and politicians.  It was especially nice to meet with Dr Meredith Craigie, Dean of the Faculty of Pain Medicine as well as catch up with the President of the Australian Pain Society, Dr Anne Burke, in Canberra this week. These consultations are an important reminder of the significant role that policy and advocacy play in improving our national response to pain in Australia. 

I hope you enjoy reading the latest enews.

Carol Bennett
Painaustralia CEO