Acute Pain Service

Our service aims to ensure patients with pain have individualised, safe and effective therapy by educating nursing and medical staff and by providing:

• pre-operative assessments
• daily pain rounds 
• staff available 24 hours a day for patient review 
• standardised documentation, protocols and procedures.

Patient information

It’s natural to be concerned about the pain you may experience after surgery. Pain levels are affected by many factors such as the type of surgery, general health, stress, anxiety, depression, medications and chronic pain conditions. Our aim is to keep your pain to an acceptable level throughout your hospital stay and to get you back to normal as soon as possible.

The techniques we use during your hospital stay will change as your pain levels drop and will be adjusted according to your needs. Pain is an individual experience and it is important that you are actively involved in the management of your pain.

It is also important that we have all the information necessary to give you the best and safest pain management.

Before admission, please inform hospital staff of:

• any chronic pain conditions you suffer
• previous medical specialist review of pain conditions
• any medications you are taking for pain management
• techniques you use at home to relieve pain
• previous allergies/side-effects you have experienced with pain-relieving medications.

We encourage you to be actively involved all aspects of your health care and invite you to read the Patient First booklet found throughout Fremantle Hospital.

Information for health professionals

Information for hospital staff

The Acute Pain Service provides:

• peri-operative patients with advanced pain techniques such as epidurals, nerve catheter infusions and patient controlled analgesia (PCA)
• complex acute pain management for inpatients.

The APS team does a daily consultant-led ward round on weekdays.

For all inpatients requiring a review for acute pain, please page the Acute Pain Service – do not just send a referral.

Contacts

Director Acute Pain Service
08 94312551
Acute Pain Nurse
Pager: 4393
Hours: 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday

Anaesthetic Registrar
Pager: 2552
Hours: 4pm to 10pm Monday to Friday 

For urgent and complex pain management from 10pm to 8am on Monday to Friday and on the weekends, the doctor covering the ward may contact the on call Anaesthetic Consultant after reviewing the patient.