Chronic Pain Ireland

Chairperson: Deirdre Ryan
National Secretary: Martina Phelan
National Treasurer: Linda Jones
Governing Body: Olivia Sheil
Governing Body: Gwen Kennedy

Founded in 1992, the main aim of Chronic Pain Ireland (CPI) is to provide information and support to those living with chronic pain, their families and friends.

Historically, chronic pain was misunderstood, under-diagnosed and neglected.  Over the years CPI has demonstrated professional leadership in Ireland and throughout Europe by drawing attention to Chronic Pain and promoting new and better methods of dealing with the disease.

Recent years has seen a substantial development of global research, both physiological and psychological, into the mechanisms and effects of chronic pain.  In more recent years there is increasing evidence to consider study and treat chronic pain as a separate disease entity.

CPI works with all the major stakeholders and networks with organisations who have similar aims. CPI lobbies for multi-disciplinary treatment centres, improved health services and changes to the educational curriculum so that Healthcare Professionals are more aware of the condition and the challenges of diagnosing, treating and managing the condition.

CPI works with all pain consultants and other healthcare professionals who specialise in the treatment and management of Chronic Pain and most of the consultants contribute articles relating to Chronic Pain for our Newsletter. CPI collaborates with companies in the pharmaceutical and medical device sector.

CPI provides a range of services including:

• information meetings
• guest speaker events
• public awareness campaigns
• participation in research
• nationwide self-management workshops
• quality newsletter & e-zine
• provision of telephone and website support.

Our website is our main communications tool enabling our members, healthcare professionals and members of the public access a range of material, information and support relevant to the condition of Chronic Pain.

Our workshops on Self-Management Techniques are the most important aspect of the work we do. We are very fortunate to have many experts with an in depth knowledge of Chronic Pain who facilitate the workshops. The workshops are critically important for those who have been through the acute phase of their treatment. Today we focus on the psychological and social impact of chronic pain on the individual.

We believe that our organisation plays a key role in the provision of support and information to those living with Chronic Pain and is the sole national organisation doing such. We are also aware of the importance of a patient support group in highlighting the issues around Chronic Pain and the importance of having it recognised as a disease in its own right.

CPI for many years campaigned to have Pain Medicine recognised as a medical specialty and in 2012 supported the Faculty of Pain Medicine, College of Anaesthetists Ireland, in its application to the Medical Council for such recognition. In June 2014 the then Minister for Health, on the recommendation of the Irish Medical Council, signed into law Pain Medicine as a medical specialty. CPI has also campaigned to have Chronic Pain recognised as a disease in its own right and thanks to the trojan work of Prof. Dr, Rolf- Detlef  Treede and his team Chronic Pain will be classified as a disease in June 2018 when the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 11) is published.

The development of a National Pain Strategy is key to the appropriate development of the diagnosis, treatment, and management of Chronic Pain. We believe that we have a significant and major role to play in the development of this strategy.

CPI continues to grow and provides much needed support for people living with the condition.

Corporate Governance

Chronic Pain Ireland (CPI) is committed to good corporate governance, high ethical standard and the principles of transparency and accountability.

Chronic Pain Ireland is a company limited by guarantee (Co. No. 238967), a Revenue registered charity (Charity No. 10779), a charity registered with the Charities Regulator (Charity No. 20028022), and is governed by the Companies Acts, Revenue Acts and the Charity Regulatory Authority. We are run by a governing body who are responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of CPI.  For full details go to http://www.chronicpain.ie/about-us/corporate-governance

CPI receive a grant from Pobal, a not-for-profit company that manages programmes on behalf of the Irish Government and the EU. Pobal is an intermediary that works on behalf of the Irish Government to support communities and local agencies toward achieving social inclusion, reconciliation and equality by managing funding and providing resources for suitable programmes.

Chronic Pain Ireland is a receiver of Pobal grant monies which we ring fence for specific purposes. As such, we adhere to all Pobal and public funding requirements and are subject to Pobal oversight, regulation and auditing. For full details of all Pobal requirements, please see their website at www.pobal.ie.

For full details of accounts, including accountancy practices, please check the Finance section of our website www.chronicpain.ie

The main objective of the organisation is to provide support and information to people living with Chronic Pain.

In furtherance of that objective we strive to create a greater awareness of the condition and work closely with all relevant stakeholders in Ireland and Europe.

We would hope that PAE as a European umbrella organization will lead and drive the campaign to create a greater awareness of Chronic Pain among politicians both National and European as well as the Public and Healthcare professionals. We would like PAE to operate in a professional manner and collaborate with all relevant stakeholders in achieving the goals of the organization.