Chronic pain: the hidden health crisis Britain can no longer ignore
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5 min read
Chronic pain is not just a symptom. It is a national health crisis.
According to the British Pain Society, it affects over 28 million people in the UK – 43 per cent of the adult population – yet it remains one of the most overlooked and underfunded areas of healthcare. This is not just a health issue; it is a social justice issue, an economic issue, and a political issue.
We know that chronic pain disproportionately affects the most vulnerable. Research from Versus Arthritis’ report Chronic Pain in England: Unseen, Unequal, Unfair highlights that people living in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to experience high-impact chronic pain compared to those in the least deprived areas. It is more common among women, more likely to affect people from minority ethnic backgrounds and, alarmingly, is on the rise among young people. These are not abstract statistics; these are our friends, our neighbours, and our families.
Yet the current healthcare system is failing them. Chronic pain is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain as pain lasting more than three months. But this definition does not reflect the lived reality of those whose pain is daily, unrelenting, and life-altering. Nor does it account for the complexity of chronic pain, which often coexists with other physical and mental health conditions. It is experienced differently by everyone, shaped by psychological, biological, and social factors. A one-size-fits-all approach does not work, however our current system insists on it.
The reality is that many people with chronic pain are left to navigate a fragmented, under-resourced system where their pain is dismissed, misunderstood, or mismanaged. A staggering number of GPs, 67 per cent according to a Censuswide survey commissioned by Alternaleaf UK, say chronic pain patients take up the vast majority of their week. And nearly 80 per cent of those same GPs believe we are far too reliant on opioids, which are largely ineffective and can carry serious risks.
Meanwhile, patients who feel unheard and unsupported are increasingly turning to dangerous alternatives. A YouGov survey suggests that 1.4 million people are self-medicating with illegally obtained cannabis. Other studies show that up to a quarter of chronic pain sufferers may turn to alcohol, with 38 per cent of problem drinkers using it for pain relief. These are desperate choices made by people who feel let down by the system and haven’t had alternative treatments signposted to them.
I recently hosted a discussion in Parliament that brought together charities, clinical experts, and people living with chronic pain. One account that particularly struck me came from a patient living with Crohn’s Disease. He spoke powerfully about how the chronic pain associated with his condition had once dominated every aspect of his life – making work difficult, and daily functioning almost impossible.
The medications he was prescribed not only failed to help but, in some cases, made his symptoms worse. Out of sheer desperation, he turned to cannabis sourced from the black market to ease his pain. Through his own persistence and research, he was able to access legal medical cannabis, which has had a genuinely transformative impact on his health, wellbeing, and ability to live a full life, however this, and other treatments, were never initially signposted to him as options by medical professionals.
Prioritising active treatment isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s also the cost-effective option
What we need now is a fundamental shift in approach. We must move beyond a model that focuses solely on “coping” and instead prioritise active treatment, meaningful relief, and the restoration of quality of life. Pain management should not be about helping people simply “cope”, it should be about supporting them to live again.
Crucially, prioritising active treatment isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s also the cost-effective option. Leaving people to struggle without support inevitably leads to increased visits to already overstretched GP surgeries and hospitals. Early, proactive intervention will save the NHS time, money, and resources in the long run, and will enable many more people to return to the workforce.
This means investing in multidisciplinary pain services and personalising care plans, while ensuring that all available options are clearly signposted to patients. These include underutilised treatments such as TENS machines, acupuncture, psychological therapies, advanced community pharmacy services, and even medical cannabis, which patients can legally access to help relieve symptoms of chronic pain. Patients must be signposted clearly and proactively, not left to stumble in the dark.
We also need to fund more research into the causes and treatment of chronic pain, and ensure data on pain and its social determinants is routinely collected and used to inform policy.
Pain does not just happen in A&E or in clinics. It happens at home, at work, in schools. It’s time we built a system that recognises that.
Chronic pain has been hidden in plain sight for too long. It's time we brought it to the forefront of our political agenda. Let’s make pain relief a right, not a privilege.
Susan Murray is the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dunbartonshire
