In June 2020, the Australian Government announced a number of changes including the conditions of use and changes to the process that prescribers must follow to prescribe opioids. The impact of these changes affected so many people living with chronic pain are still being felt.
We are, and will continue, to not only raise awareness of the adverse impact of these changes to government but also to the broader community.
And we were able to do this through significant media interest in these changes and the stories told by consumers themselves. Some of these included:
- ABC Radio 28/03/2021Tune in to ABC News Sunday National Digital Drive with Shelley Ware & Painaustralia CEO Carol Bennett who explored the new laws that came into effect in June 2020 concerning the prescription of opioids that have affected millions of Australians. Listen-back here https://buff.ly/3sEFwzb
- The Science of Everything COSMOS - 11/03/2021 Pain education could end the opioid crisis Last June, the Australian Government introduced regulatory changes in opioids prescriptions to face this crisis. But restricting access to opioids without offering valid alternatives has left many Australians in pain. “The challenge is to restrict the uptake and ongoing use of opioids for pain while ensuring patients continue to have access to safe, effective and adequate pain relief,” says Carol Bennett, CEO of national peak body Painaustralia. “This study provides some insight into one mechanism for achieving this.”
- ABC Late News - 09/03/2021 Sophie Scott ABC News interviewed Painaustralia CEO Carol Bennett about new restrictions on the use and availability of opioid medication, particularly for chronic pain management. Many people have been left without access to affordable alternative services, and are finding it very difficult to cope. https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NU2109H048S00
- ABC News - 09/03/2021 Mary Lloyd & Sophie Scott ABC News interviewed Painaustralia CEO Carol Bennett about new restrictions on the use and availability of opioid medication, particularly for chronic pain management. Here is the full interview! #painaustralia also available on ABC TV + iview https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NU2117H048S00
- ABC News - 09/03/2021 New rules around opioid prescriptions leave few options for Australians in pain Chief executive of Painaustralia Carol Bennett said the changes had serious consequences for more than 3 million Australians who experienced chronic pain. "Many people have been extremely distressed, some of them suicidal, and that's been a really awful part of this policy change," she said. "We need to see better pain services in place and … that ideally would have happened before this policy change had been made."
Painaustralia in the News
- Medical Republic 29/03/2021 Words can hurt me: how language makes things worse...The third project, the Community Education and Awareness Program, is run by Painaustralia and aims to offer people easy access to pain management information. “This is intended to be a trusted source of quality information in one place that enables people to get informed about what’s available out there,” says Carol Bennett, CEO at Painaustralia. The program includes a range of resources and links to research studies, a discussion forum and an app where people can interact and ask questions...
- The Sydney Morning Herald - 11/03/2021 A cheap heat pack to replace opioids for back pain? It may work ...Leah Dwyer, Painaustralia Consumer Advisory Group Memeber, who became hooked after using the drugs to treat chronic neck pain, said: “When I took these pills, I felt quite like, ‘She’ll be right, I can handle this.’ It gives you a sense of euphoria and control. It’s opium – that’s the part I think people forget. They make you not care about the pain.” Eventually, Ms Dwyer was taking 15 pills a day. Her life came to revolve around them. But when she quit, she found the pain was not as bad as she had feared and easily treatable with Panadol...
Blogs
- Royal Commission into Aged Care: Will we repeat the pattern of failure?
- More evidence: now for action on Musculoskeletal conditions
- Chronic Pain's Invisibility Cloak
- Workplace practices that drive pain - a classic example
- The Cobra Effect: the intended and unintended consequences of opioid policy in Australia
- My invisible Pain