Introducing an analgesic prescription chart

The report of the working party on pain after surgery states that the 'failure to relieve pain is morally and ethically unacceptable' (Working Party of the Commission on the Provision of Surgical Services, 1990). The report's recommendations include: A patient's pain should be assessed and recorded along with other observations; The level of care and monitoring is appropriate both to the clinical condition of the patient and the technique employed, with training for staff to include programmes for the diagnosis and management of the complications and hazards of particular forms of treatment.