Shining a light on pain

Children can experience illnesses and will often encounter procedures which can cause pain when they attend or are admitted to hospital. This experienced pain may be acute, chronic and/or persistent in nature. National and International guidelines are available directing Healthcare practitioners (HCPs) on how to assess and manage pain. Despite this, the assessment and management of children's pain remains a challenge within healthcare teams, and the burden of pain in children, and its impact on families and society is significant (Eccleston et al., 2021). So, let's shine a light on pain across our healthcare curriculums and in our healthcare settings to ensure that our patients get the best possible, evidence-based care and avoid the fear and lack of confidence that their pain will be managed appropriately. We have a responsibility to review our education provision to ensure that specified content is included, we need to call for improved CPD funding for staff and we need to increase awareness within the healthcare setting of the short- and long-term impact of untreated pain in children.