Anaesthesia
Acute Pain Service
The Acute Pain Service (APS) at the Royal United Hospital Bath provides specialist care to help you manage your pain after surgery, procedures or trauma. Effective pain control is an important part of recovery, helping you to mobilise earlier, breathe more comfortably and return home sooner. Good pain control is an important part of your recovery. You may receive a combination of medications and techniques during and after your operation.
This may include:
- Tablets or liquid medicines
- Injections
- Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA)
- Regional techniques (such as nerve blocks) - link to type of anaesthetic page
Helpful Resources
You may find the following resources useful:
Pain relief to take home following your surgery (RUH)
Pain relief after surgery (Royal College of Anaesthetists)
Our service works closely with surgical teams and members of the multi-disciplinary team to deliver safe, individualised and evidence-based pain management across the hospital.
Our Team
The Acute Pain Service is supported by a dedicated team of specialist pain nurses, working alongside consultant and SAS anaesthetists with expertise in acute pain management. The team sees patients from across the hospital, including those on the adult surgical and medical wards, and the children's ward.
The team undertakes:
- Daily acute pain ward rounds
- Consultant or SAS-led review on several days each week
- Assessment of new patient referrals from the wards or the emergency department
- Liaison with the on-call anaesthetic team
- Close collaboration with ward teams and pharmacy
This multidisciplinary approach ensures that your pain is reviewed regularly and treatment adjusted according to each patient's needs.
The pain service also provides training to nurses and other members of the multidisciplinary team in the safe management of patients with advanced pain relief treatments such as epidural local anaesthetic infusions or patient controlled analgesia.
How We Manage Pain
We use a range of techniques tailored to the type of surgery, the patient's medical background and their preferences. These may include:
- Simple pain relief such as paracetamol and anti-inflammatory medicines
- Stronger oral pain relief when needed, used safely and appropriately
- Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA)
- Epidural pain relief
- Nerve blocks and other regional anaesthesia techniques involving an injection or infusion of local anaesthetic edications
- Intra-venous infusions of other strong painkilling medicines
Where possible, we aim to minimise side effects such as nausea, drowsiness and constipation, while still providing effective pain relief.
Regional Anaesthesia and Acute Pain
Regional anaesthesia is the term for pain management techniques that aim to numb target areas of the body with the aim of relieving pain, using local anaesthetic medications. The Acute Pain Service works closely with the anaesthetic team who undertake these procedures, for example for orthopaedic and major abdominal surgery, or following traumatic injuries such as rib fractures.
Epidurals, nerve blocks and other regional anaesthetic techniques can provide excellent pain control, reduce the need for opioid medicines and support faster recovery.
Patient-Centred Care
We recognise that pain is experienced differently by each person. Our team:
- Listens to patients' concerns and expectations
- Explains pain relief options clearly
- Encourages patients to be involved in decisions about their care
- Reviews pain regularly and adjust treatment as needed
Patients are encouraged to tell staff if their pain is not well controlled or if they experience side effects from medication.
When Pain Persists
For patients whose pain continues beyond the immediate post-operative period, we liaise with local Chronic Pain Services to ensure appropriate follow-up and onward referral where needed.
Training, Education and Quality Improvement
The Acute Pain Service plays an active role in:
- Training anaesthetic residents, nurses and other clinical staff
- Supporting Quality Improvement projects within the department
- Contributing to safe prescribing and pain management standards
- The investigation of incidents involving pain management techniques
Pain management education is also incorporated into wider departmental teaching and initiatives such as Tea Trolley Training.
Further Information
If you have questions about pain control during your hospital stay, please speak to your ward team, who can contact the Acute Pain Service if required. For information about long-term or persistent pain, please see the Chronic Pain section.