The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has launched a Global Pain Council (GPC) to raise the standard of pain management in small animals. The Council, comprising leading veterinarians from around the world, aims to develop easily accessible practical guidelines on pain management for veterinary staff, and to create a CE program which can be rolled out around the world.

The Global Pain Council has been set up in response to challenges faced by the profession in diagnosing and managing pain in small animals and because of the unavailability of various analgesic agents around the world.

“Assessing and managing small animal pain is an issue of global significance,” says Dr. Karol Mathews, Professor Emerita of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, and a member of the Global Pain Council. “Pain accompanies many of the common ailments affecting these animals but its treatment has not kept pace with its incidence, leading to what we believe to be a ‘treatment gap’.”

This year, the Council will conduct research into existing pain assessment and management procedures. Based on this, it will produce a “Global Pain Treatise” in early 2013 for veterinarians around the world. The Treatise will provide a comprehensive resource on pain management and will be designed to be of daily clinical relevance. Later in 2013, pain management CE programs will be developed and rolled out globally. wsava.org