Thanks to your donations, our Pain Management team has been able to purchase TENS machines and heat packs that help children to manage their own pain relief. 

The TENS machines, which use electrical stimulation to alter the way pain messages are sent to the brain and help to reduce the need for pain-relieving drugs, are now in use across our hospital to assist with everything from back and abdominal discomfort, to pain associated with cancer and transplants.

Sally Coles, Senior Pain Specialist at our hospital, said: “We are so grateful for your donations which have allowed us to buy over 60 machines. They give our young patients a much greater degree of control over managing their pain, without any of the side effects associated with pain relief medicine. What’s more, they are reusable so if children find they work they are able to take them home.”

Freya (pictured), who is receiving treatment for a type of cancer, is just one of our patients who has benefitted first-hand from these new machines.

Her mum Helen said: “The TENS machines helped Freya considerably during the first couple of months of her intensive chemotherapy. As the machines are a more natural form of pain relief, Freya’s discomfort was reduced and she didn’t suffer any nasty side effects. They’ve also been great as Freya is able to control the machines herself, which is a huge thing for her when a lot of the control over everything else in her life has been taken away."