Patients are having agonising waits for referrals to chronic pain clinics because of coronavirus shutdowns.
Figures released yesterday show the number of people referred for the quarter ending June 2020 was 69 per cent down on the same time in 2019.
Just 547 patients were seen at a chronic pain clinic compared to 4,972 for the quarter ending June 2019 and 52.9 per cent of patients had been waiting more than 18 weeks compared to 15.4 per cent the previous year.
Those with chronic pain are begging the Scottish Government to end their suffering and reopen pain management clinics as a matter of urgency.
A number of people affected have said they have contemplated suicide while others are travelling huge distances such as frim Elgin to Doncaster - around 411 miles - for private treatment during lockdown.
But it looks probable that pain clinics will not be re-introduced until phase four of lockdown easing.
Mum-of-three Bev Burns has been on the waiting list to see a chronic pain specialist since January.
She should have had her first appointment within 18 weeks of going on the list but the Covid shutdown means she is still in excruciating pain and her three young children have become her carers for long periods as her husband Steve works away from home for several days at a time.
Bev, 41, from Kilgreggan, Dunbartonshire, has suffered from fibromyalgia - a condition that causes widespread pain all over the body and extreme tiredness - for the best part of 20 years.
But in the last two or three years it has worsened to the extent she is often bedridden.
She worked for her family’s photography business and enjoyed a busy lifestyle, constantly running her children, Gregor, 17, Sophie, 13, and nine-year-old Erin, all over the place.
But while she would previously enjoy days out with the children they now enjoy time together crafting or snuggling up with her in her bed watching a movie. And she can no longer work.
She is desperate for help with her pain management to alleviate the burden on her children.
She said: “They have become huge carers for me and when my husband is away my son steps up to take on the dad role. He is not getting the time he should be to have fun.
“My health has begun to plummet. Every day seems to get worse and every time my husband comes back from work he says he feels as if he is watching me slipping away.”
Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said: “Chronic pain patients endured long waiting times before coronavirus and they have been let down badly by the Scottish Government during the pandemic.
“Pain clinics and treatments must be restored urgently.
“With over half of all chronic pain patients waiting over 18 weeks for a first appointment, it is little surprise that so many have been forced to seek treatment outside of Scotland.
“People living with chronic pain conditions must not be forgotten as the NHS emerges from lockdown.
“Getting NHS services up and running must be the Scottish Government’s priority.”
