Consultant in Pain Management
MB BS University of Newcastle upon Tyne 1988, B.Med.Sci University of Newcastle upon Tyne 1987, M.Clin. Ed University of Newcastle upon Tyne 2002, MRCGP London 1992, T (GP) UK 1992, FRCA London 1997, CCST (Anaesthetics) UK 1999, FFPMRCA London Foundation Fellow 2010.
Newcastle and Nationwide
Dr Wilkinson is a pain physician consultant primarily and Director of Pain Management Services at Newcastle, UK. Combining his background in education with rehabilitative practice, he has a specialist interest in biopsychosocial aspects of rehabilitation of people living with chronic pain, education as a tool to bridge the gaps between scientific evidence and clinical practice and professional standards applied to pain practice (see Appendix 1 for appointment list).
He has undertaken medical expert legal work for over fifteen years. He estimates that he has a ratio of approx. 60-:40 claimants: defendants and occasional but regular joint instructions. He has attended Court around half dozen times and undertakes 2 complex reports per week.
He has an academic interest in the way that clinical pain issues are applied in communication between lawyers and doctors. This was reflected by appointment as Chair of CLIPS which is the legal issues group that is one of a number of groups that inform and support the activities of the International Association for the study of Pain. This consists of approaching 100 chapters with representatives from over 100 countries. He has either been on the organising committee or Chair of the organising committee for a number of medico-legal conferences in Montreal, Milan and Buenos Aires and organised a satellite conference which had themes of helping physicians and lawyers understand the different perspectives in Lake Como, Italy. He has lectured at conferences on central sensitisation and disability and deception as well as a host of other national conferences for other groups such as orthopaedic surgeons, national rheumatological society and national occupational health associations etc.
He is former council member of and Vice President of the British Pain Society where he is most recognised for chairing a National interdisciplinary committee which defined the key components of rehabilitation ranked these using evidence-based methods and set the standards for pain practice in the UK. This was the first and seminal framework for rehabilitation practice and is now used worldwide.
He was former Chair of the Pain Management Specialist Interest Group (SIG), Secretary of the Education Specialist Interest Group and member of communication and education committees. More recently he was Chair of the National Pain Awareness Campaign and responsible for transforming the British Pain Society from a member society to the functioning charitable organisation that it is today. The thrust of this work involved promotion of public and professional education. He presented to the House of Commons all party parliamentary group on pain education in 2017 and is clinical advisor to the UK Parliamentary Ombudsman and medicolegal expert, providing evidence on a regular basis to UK Courts.
He has multiple roles for the International Association of pain covering over 100 countries. These include Chair of the IASP Education SIG, Past chair of CLIPSSIG, Member of the publications committee and Member of the International Education working group.
Most recently he was Chair of The Global Year of Pain Education 2018 taskforce for which he has chaired the International task force. This worldwide initiative serves to bridge some of the educational gaps that occur in pain practice, in patients, public, governmental, education and educational research. He has brought about some expansive and innovative approaches in his delivery
He has organised many IASP workshops and satellite conferences.
He has authored or contributed to around 100 publications ranging from a BMJ editorial to reviews, chapters, published audits, and original research, a significant number of the most important are science-to-practice translational publications from professional organisations. He was a Clinical Senior Lecturer, Newcastle and was visiting monitor to Cardiff University.
He is current Chair of the Professional Standards Committee of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of United Kingdom and Faculty board member translating scientific evidence to define best pain practice. At its heart is a several hundred-page Core standards document and around 30 publications representing enormous experience of translating complex evidential sources into best clinical practice. Specific areas of personal involvement and/or leadership are medicines and patient information, standards for injections and patient education, multi-collegiate guidance on CRPS, clinical pathways definitions including the Pathfinder project for back and radicular pain and as co-chair for the professional standards publication on Consultation and Communication which defines the standards of medical assessments in pain practice in the United Kingdom.
BMA; Assoc of Anaesthetists; Royal Coll of Anaesthetists; Int Assoc for the Study of Pain; Pain Soc; Northern Pain Soc; N British Pain Soc.; elected council member of the clinical legal group of the International Association of Pain, Chair of the International Association of Pain's Clinical-legal issues group in Pain (CLIPS); Member of the Standards committee of the Faculty of Pain Medicine; Elected Council member of the British Pain Society.