Sluzzle offers an evidence-based sleep programme created by expert UK clinical psychologists.
This helps people whose mind races, who toss and turn and for whom the usual sleep advice hasn’t worked.
Sluzzle uses Acceptance and Commitment therapy and Solution Focused therapy principles to help you improve your sleep.
They offer a free trial but also paid for courses. Please visit the website to learn more.
Our Appointments – What to Expect
We want to help you get the most from your care. This means working together and making sure appointments are used well.
Before your appointment
What we expect from you
If you cannot attend (UTA)
If you let us know in advance (more than 24 hours):
If you miss an appointment (DNA)
A DNA means you did not attend and did not tell us in advance.
If this happens when:
First appointment in the service missed
Follow-up appointments / reassessments missed
If you do not contact us within 3 weeks:
Repeated missed appointments
A few helpful things to know
Our promise to you
Why this matters
Missed appointments mean:
By working together, we can make sure you get the best possible support.
Living with long-term pain or ME/CFS can affect every part of life, including mood, sleep, confidence and stress levels. When mental health suffers, pain and fatigue often become harder to manage. NHS Talking Therapies is a free and confidential service that can help you develop practical tools to cope better, improve wellbeing and regain control. Support is available for problems such as stress, anxiety, low mood and overwhelm, all of which can have a real impact on persistent pain and fatigue symptoms.
The Nottingham Women’s Centre “New Changes” service offers support for women who may be struggling with things that can affect their health and wellbeing. This can include stress, low mood, relationships, domestic abuse, money worries, housing problems, work, training or feeling isolated.
The service is friendly, supportive and focused on what matters most to each woman. Support can be given in person, by phone or online.
Women can refer themselves or ask a healthcare professional or support worker to refer them. There is also a weekly drop-in session every Tuesday from 10am to 1pm at Nottingham Women’s Centre where women can speak to a caseworker without an appointment.
You can find out more or refer yourself through their website.
This leaflet is designed to give you information about meralgia paraesthetica injections and to answer some common questions you may have. Practice may vary slightly between centres. Your doctor will explain the procedure fully and discuss whether this treatment is appropriate for you.
What is meralgia paraesthetica?
Meralgia paraesthetica is a condition caused by irritation or compression of a nerve called the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. This nerve supplies sensation to the outer part of the thigh.
Symptoms may include:
It does not affect muscle strength and does not cause weakness in the leg.
What is a lateral femoral cutaneous nerve injection for meralgia paraesthetica?
A meralgia paraesthetica injection involves injecting medication around the affected nerve. The injection usually contains a local anaesthetic, often combined with a small dose of steroid.
The aim of the injection is to:
Pain relief may be short-lived, but some people experience significant and longer-lasting improvement. The injection is not always a cure and is usually part of a wider treatment plan, which may include weight management, physiotherapy or activity modification.
What are the side effects of a steroid injection?
What should I do after the injection?
You may experience some soreness or aching at the injection site. Please keep the area of the injection dry for 24 hours following the procedure. Do not worry if your pain feels worse for a few days as this sometimes happens. Take your regular pain relief and medications as normal and this should settle down. If steroid was used, this can take up to 2-weeks to take effect on your pain. Following the injection, we advise that you have a day of relative rest, but you can continue with light work and daily activities during this time.
What follow-up will be arranged?
One of the Advanced Practice Physiotherapists in the pain team will call you 6-8 weeks after your injection to review your response. A member of the Pain Admin team will contact you to arrange this appointment after your injection. We will also send you a post-injection pain questionnaire via text or email to help us better understand the benefits the injection has had on your pain and quality of life.
If having read this information, and discussed any questions or concerns with your clinician, you would like to proceed with an injection, we will ask for your consent. You are free to change your mind after this at any time.
Complaints
While most patients receive a high standard of service from NHS services, there are times when individuals may feel dissatisfied with the care or service provided.
At PICS Pain Service, patient feedback is important to us, as it helps us improve the care and services we provide. We take all complaints seriously and are committed to addressing your concerns promptly, fairly, and to your satisfaction wherever possible.
You should normally make any complaint within 12 months of an incident or of it coming to your attention. This time limit can be extended if you have good reasons for not making the complaint sooner and it’s still possible for us to complete a fair investigation. This decision will be made by our complaints manager together with you.
The complaints process
Complaints can be made in person to your clinician, by telephone, by writing either a letter or email or by completing our contact form. Complaints should be addressed to the Service Manager, Karen Bush.
Karen Bush
Service Manager
Primary Integrated Community Services Ltd
Unit H3
Ash Tree Court
Nottingham Business Park
Nottingham
NG8 6PY
pics.picscommunitypainclinic@nhs.net
When we receive a complaint, we will acknowledge it within three working days through the method in which you sent the original complaint. We aim to write to you with the result of the complaint within 25 working days. If we can’t meet our original expected timeframe, we will provide regular updates on the progress of your complaint.
If you make an anonymous complaint via a channel over which we can’t verify your identity (e.g. over social media), we will listen to it and where possible, address it. However, we will not be able to respond to you with any details. If it’s possible for us to do so, we will advise you of the other ways you can feedback where we can offer a fuller response.
Please be assured that making a complaint will not affect your ongoing care or treatment. We are committed to dealing with all complaints fairly and compassionately, and we will make every effort to resolve the matter to your satisfaction.
Wherever possible, we aim to learn from complaints and take appropriate action to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else
We adhere strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint on behalf of another person, we will require their written permission to proceed. We will send you a third-party consent form which must be completed before we can further investigate the complaint or release any information.
If the patient is unable to provide their consent due to illness or incapacity, you should clearly state this as part of the complaint.
How do I complain to someone Independent?
Although we would prefer to have the opportunity to answer complaints ourselves in the first instance, you may pass your complaint directly to:
Patient Experience Team
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board
Sir John Robinson House
Sir John Robinson Way
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 6DA
Tel: 0115 8839570
Email: nnicb-nn.patientexperience@nhs.net
If you would like further information, please follow the link to the ICB website: www.notts.icb.nhs.uk/contact-us/patient-advice-and-complaints/
Escalating your complaint
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint or the way in which it has been handled, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) on 0345 015 4033.
For more information see their website www.ombudsman.org.uk
Complaints advocacy
If you need help to make a complaint you can contact POWhER. POWhER is an independent organisation that provides NHS complaints advocacy free of charge and confidentially. They can be contacted on 0300 456 2370. More information is available on their website www.pohwer.net/nhs-complaints-advocacy
Heidi AI is a useful tool which records an audio of your appointment to allow the clinician to focus on you, whilst accurately capturing all the relevant information for your medical record.
This tool is in widespread use within the NHS.
Learn more in the attached leaflet and please know that you can request this tool is not used at any time during your care.
Gedling Borough
Armed Forces Leisure Membership – Gedling Leisure
The Armed Forces membership scheme is for Gedling Borough residents who have previously served, or are currently serving, in the Armed Forces (Navy, Army or Royal Air Force). The scheme gives forces personnel and veterans free use of the gyms only at Calverton, Redhill and Carlton Forum Leisure Centres.
You can also meet Armed Forces colleagues and veterans at the Armed Forces Breakfast Club which takes place at the Richard Herrod Centre in Carlton every month.
Newark and Sherwood
Active4Today in Newark & Sherwood also provides discounted corporate membership for serving forces personnel and potentially for veterans.
Nottingham Forest Community Trust runs a Forest Forces breakfast club at the City ground, aiming to tackle social isolation in veterans by offering a variety of regular activities and events that encourage social connection, while also supporting physical and mental wellbeing.
Nottinghamshire
Check with other local councils like Broxtowe and Rushcliffe for their specific offers, as benefits are often geographically dependent.
Armed Forces Champions and Charities department of Nottinghamshire County Councils provides the names and contact details of the Armed Forces Champions for the councils in Nottinghamshire.
Nationally
The Government veterans website details the provision of free support for veterans and their families, including a helpline, Veterans Welfare Service, Defence Transition Services and injury/bereavement compensation scheme payments.
The Royal British Legion is here to support members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families.
Help for Heroes is the leading Armed Forces and veterans’ charity in the UK.
SSAFA the Armed Forces charity operates in Nottinghamshire, supporting serving personnel, veterans and their families in their time of need.
Combat Stress provide clinical treatment and support for veterans from the British Armed Forces, focusing on those with complex mental health issues resulting from their experiences during military service.
The NHS has special support for veterans to make sure their health needs are understood and cared for. Veterans, people leaving the forces, reservists who were not sent on duty, and their families or carers can all use these services.
Veterans may get faster treatment for health problems caused by their time in the forces. If they get a war pension, they can also get help with prescriptions, dental care, and equipment they need for their condition.
There are also specialist services, like Op COURAGE for mental health support and Op RESTORE for help with physical injuries. You can find out more on the Veteran Aware website: www.veteranaware.nhs.uk/findsupport/
The Battle Back Centre at Lilleshall was established by the Royal British Legion in 2011 to support wounded and injured service personnel returning from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its aim is to promote the best possible recovery for members of the Armed Forces community, whether that means returning to military duty or making a successful transition to civilian life. Alongside its ongoing work with wounded, injured and sick service personnel, the Centre has more recently expanded its offer to include dedicated wellbeing courses for veterans.
http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-support/how-we-help/recovery-services/battle-back-centre
PICS is a Veteran Aware organisation. This means we make sure a person’s military background is taken into account when giving care. We are working towards Gold accreditation and encourage you to tell us if you have a military background.
For more information, see our Veterans section in Resources
What are opioids?
Opioids are strong painkillers. They work by changing the way your brain and spinal cord feel pain. Doctors sometimes give them after an operation, after a big injury, or for cancer pain. Sometimes they are used for long-term pain, but they do not help everyone and are no longer recommended by the NHS.
Examples include codeine, dihydrocodeine, Tramadol, morphine, Zormorph, Longtec, Shortec, Buprenorphine and Fentanyl.
What your doctor needs to know before prescribing them:
Tell your healthcare team if you:
• are allergic to any medicine,
• take other medicines or herbal remedies,
• are pregnant, planning pregnancy, or breastfeeding,
• have kidney problems,
• have ever had problems with alcohol, drugs, or addiction.
How do you take them?
Opioids come in different forms: tablets, capsules, liquids, injections, and skin patches.
When should I take them?
If you have pain all the time, your doctor may give you slow-release tablets or a patch. These give medicine all day to keep the pain level steady. Fast-acting opioids are not as useful for pain that never goes away.
What if I miss a dose?
Take it when you remember. If it’s nearly time for your next one, skip the missed dose. Never take two doses together.
How much should I take?
The best dose is the smallest amount that makes your pain better. It is rare for opioids to take all the pain away. Always take the amount your doctor has prescribed. If it is not working, or the side effects are a problem, speak to your doctor.
How quickly do they work?
Fast-acting tablets can work in about an hour and last a few hours. Slow-release tablets and patches take longer – sometimes a couple of days – before you feel much effect.
Side effects
When you first start taking opioids, you might feel:
• dizzy,
• sleepy,
• sick or be sick,
• muddled or confused.
These problems usually get better after a few days. Constipation (difficulty pooing) is very common and does not usually go away. You may need another medicine, called a laxative, to help. Other possible problems are itching, weight gain, and low sex drive. Some people may have trouble breathing at night, especially if overweight or if they snore.
Can I drive?
In the UK you can drive if your doctor prescribed the opioids and you take them as told. But you must not drive if you feel sleepy, unsafe, or muddled. Opioids can slow your reactions. Never drive in the first few days after starting them or after a change in dose. Drinking alcohol makes it more unsafe.
Alcohol and opioids
Both make you sleepy and slow your thinking. Avoid alcohol when you first start or when your dose changes. When stable, small amounts of alcohol may be okay – but never mix alcohol and opioids if you are going to drive or use machines.
Long-term use
Research into effective pain medication for chronic pain has moved on in the last few years. It is now known that opioids (such as codeine, Tramadol, morphine) are not very effective for treating this type of pain, but they are still commonly prescribed.
Taking opioids for months or years can cause problems. These may include:
• difficulty having children,
• low sex drive,
• irregular periods,
• problems getting or keeping an erection in men,
• lower ability to fight infections,
• sometimes more pain, not less.
Because of these risks, your doctor will check your treatment regularly. Some people are able to slowly lower their dose and find their pain does not get worse – and sometimes life feels better with fewer side effects.
This video explains more about this and why opioids may not be the best thing for you.
Tolerance, dependence, and addiction
Over time, opioids may stop working as well. Your body can also get used to them, so stopping suddenly can make you feel unwell (withdrawal). Symptoms can include sweating, runny nose, tummy pain, diarrhoea, and aching muscles.
Addiction is rare when opioids are used for pain. Addiction means craving the medicine, taking more than you should, or continuing even when it harms you. The risk is higher if you have had problems with alcohol or drugs before, or if you have severe anxiety or depression.
Stopping opioids
Do not stop suddenly. Always speak to your doctor or nurse, who will help you reduce them slowly and safely.
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