Emma is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Pain Management, specialising in acute and chronic pain within the NHS.

She has a wide range of knowledge and experience surrounding chronic pain and delivers personalised, individual support for patients, with a professional interest in trauma experiences and pain responses.

Mary is a Specialist Physiotherapist in Pain Management with 4 years of experience, treating both acute and chronic pain. She has a special interest in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and supporting veterans with persistent pain.

Mary has completed extensive training in opioid reduction and pain medication optimisation. As an advocate for meaningful activity, she is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for those living with pain.

Three things that make you happy?

Sunshine, dogs/animals and travel! ✈️

Dr. Charlotte Small is a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Chief Medical Officer at Leva and co-lead of the Wye Valley NHS Trust Pain Management Service.

Dr Small started her anaesthetics training in the Royal Air Force and was previously the Virtual Reality Lead within the Academic Department of Military Anaesthesia and Critical Care.

She was the Chair of the West Midlands Trainee Research in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Network and completed a PhD at the University of Birmingham and an MSc in Pain Management at Cardiff University.

She has experience in treating a range of chronic pain conditions and is the co-founder of the Skylark Project, improving access to care for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, alongside the Flying Child Project.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.

Carter Crocker, Disney's Pooh's Grand Adventure The Search for Christopher Robin

Dr Sarah Aturia is a Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Management Specialist, serving in both elective NHS and private practices encompassing all aspects of Acute, Chronic and Cancer pain with a special interest in Spine, Musculoskeletal, Neuropathic, Chronic Post-Surgical and Pelvic Pain, and Fibromyalgia.

Dr Sarah Aturia graduated in 1996, and completed higher specialist training in the Oxford School of Anaesthesia, obtaining the FRCA and FFPMRCA. She underwent a one-year Pain Fellowship at The Royal Brisbane Hospital, Queensland, Australia.

She lectures undergraduates at the University of Buckingham Medical School and is a lecturer for the Essential Pain Management (EPM) Programme. EPM is an initiative of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, Royal College of Anaesthetists designed to improve pain assessment and management in developing countries.

Dr Arun Bhaskar is a Consultant in Pain Medicine, specialising in complex pain areas such as neuropathic pain, cancer pain, visceral and pelvic pain, as well as pain interventions and neuromodulation.

He advises NICE on guidelines, including interventional procedures and cancer pain.

Dr Arun Bhaskar has been involved in multiple clinical trials focused on cancer and neuropathic pain, including chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, and has developed innovative techniques for interventional treatment of intractable cancer pain.

He served as the President of the British Pain Society and is an NHS Consultant at Imperial College Healthcare Trust. Additionally, Dr Arun Bhaskar holds international leadership positions, such as Chairman of the UK Section at the World Institute of Pain and member of the European Pain Federation Task Force on Cancer Pain Management. He is also the Honorary Secretary of the Neuromodulation Society of UK and Ireland and chairs the Communications Committee of the British Pain Society, having served two terms as an elected council member.

Dr Giancarlo Camilleri is a Pain Management Specialist with expertise in various aspects of pain with areas of interest in management of back pain, neck pain, chronic spinal pain, sciatica, sacroiliac joint pain or dysfunction, myofascial pain, chronic knee pain, and chronic hip pain.

He is MSK Lead for Spine Services & Consultant in Chronic Pain Management at the Ashford & St Peter's NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Giancarlo Camilleri qualified from the University Bristol Medical School, going on to complete further Specialist Pain Management Training in London, and completed his anaesthetics and chronic pain training in Oxford, Brighton and London.

He is a member of the British Pain Society and Royal College of Anaesthetists and a Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine.

Tell us three things that bring joy into your life

I love playing touch rugby, DIY and cooking. Touch rugby keeps me feeling young and energetic. I love the problem-solving with DIY and looking back at things I have made or fixed. Food brings people together around a table and I love to bring people together in this way.

Dr Alifia Tameem is a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Management and a previous Clinical Service Lead in Pain Management at the Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts.

She is the Chair of the West Midlands Pain Society (WMPS) and current lead of the Inpatient Pain Management department.

Additionally, she is the co-editor of the Essential Notes in Pain Medicine, a comprehensive book for acute, chronic and cancer pain management, suitable for young clinicians, nurses, allied health specialists and trainees sitting the FFPMRCA or equivalent exams.

Diarmuid Denneny is a Consultant Physiotherapist with more than 25 years of clinical experience, the last 18 specifically supporting people living with persisting pain at a large and specialised NHS pain centre.  

Diarmuid uses a collaborative approach when working with his patients. 

He is currently a part-time PhD student (on an ESRC fellowship; researching pain and things that support people outside healthcare), an educator in pain to clinicians of all professional groups, a member of the Footsteps Festival team, a member of the Global Alliance for Partnership in Pain Advocacy GAPPA), and was a committee member of the recent NICE guideline for chronic pain (NG193) amongst other things.

Dr John O'Sullivan is a Clinical Psychologist with 9 years of experience, who specialises in working with patients suffering from chronic pain.

He takes a collaborative approach, focusing on recognising the drivers of pain and encouraging the development of evidence-based coping strategies.

Skilled in psychological therapies such as CBT, ACT, EMDR mindfulness, and pain management programmes, he has worked with people in persistent pain in both the NHS and independent sectors.

If you had to sing karaoke, which song would you pick?

Lola by the Kinks. I sang this once to a room full of backpackers whilst travelling in Australia. I was nervous and almost didn't do it but I pushed myself and it went down a storm. I reflect on this moment as a transformative experience and often remember it when anxiety shows up in my life today

Angie is a Clinical Nurse Specialist who has worked in Pain Management for 13 years.

During this time Angie has worked with patients with complex chronic pain in the outpatient and inpatient setting, with a professional interest in abdominal and pelvic pain.

Angie has a wide range of knowledge and experience in opioid reduction and supporting patients to achieve their goals.

Angie works with patients to help them live better with pain by supporting them to develop personalised and individual care plans.

What fictional world or place would you like to visit?

A place from a book by Cecelia Ahern called ‘A Place Called Here’. The lead character goes missing to the place where all the missing people, odd socks and objects go. The story is about self-discovery but I think it would be amazing to find all of your past possessions that just disappeared into thin air and the memories that these would provoke.

Emma is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Pain Management, specialising in acute and chronic pain within the NHS.

She has a wide range of knowledge and experience surrounding chronic pain and delivers personalised, individual support for patients, with a professional interest in trauma experiences and pain responses.

Mary is a Specialist Physiotherapist in Pain Management with 4 years of experience, treating both acute and chronic pain. She has a special interest in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and supporting veterans with persistent pain.

Mary has completed extensive training in opioid reduction and pain medication optimisation. As an advocate for meaningful activity, she is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for those living with pain.

Three things that make you happy?

Sunshine, dogs/animals and travel! ✈️