Damning report finds two-thirds of older adults in chronic pain not prescribed any medication- TD Michael Collins

Damning report finds two-thirds of older adults in chronic pain not prescribed any medication- Michael Collins

Leader of Independent Ireland Michael Collins has said the latest findings from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) has revealed clear evidence of what he called “a silent epidemic of breathtaking proportions” with respect to the level of unmet need and pain that older people are enduring.

The TILDA report found that only one-third of older adults reporting chronic pain with moderate to severe symptoms received pain-relieving medication, while the remaining two-thirds received no pain medication of any description.

TILDA is the most comprehensive, nationally representative study of older adults in Ireland led by Trinity College Dublin:

“The fact that I have several years’ experience of bringing thousands of older people to the north of Ireland for operations and basic healthcare means these findings on chronic pain management do not come as a profound shock.”

“That being said, I continue to find it astonishing and infuriating that the state is failing older people at such a scale on a daily basis.”

“What is extremely alarming to me is that the TILDA report has found the prevalence of lack of access to any pain medication is consistent across age groups from 50–75 and older and that we are not just talking here about lack of access to specialised opioid pain management.”

“When we have 67% of older people remaining untreated with even the most basic pharmacological pain management options such as paracetamol, then I am afraid we are in third-world levels of care.”

“I and my party will be engaging with the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on the findings of the TILDA report, and we will be demanding a full response in terms of how she intends to implement a treatment pathway to address these chronic deficits in basic care for older people.”