The European Society of Regional Anaesthesia & Pain Therapy (ESRA) has awarded the Hospital Clínic Barcelona Pain Unit the European “Education and Training Excellence” accreditation after a six-month application and evaluation process.
The accreditation process took into account both the total volume of activity per year at the Unit and the complexity of the procedures performed. Moreover, the clinical activity and the professional and academic curricula of the Unit's medical specialists and consultants were analysed.
This accreditation highlights the professional quality of the medical staff. Thus, it is an important European distinction, making the Hospital Clínic Pain Unit the second in Spain with this accreditation. Moreover, the Pain Unit joins a select group of fewer than 20 institutions across Europe with this ESRA accreditation.
Dr. Christian Dürsteler, head of the Pain Unit, underlines the importance of this accreditation for teaching about the treatment of pain to specialists carrying out rotational training at the Hospital Clínic Pain Unit. "This shows that we are capable of training clinicians and researchers with the highest European and international standards”. He also adds that the accreditation “will allow us to access both teaching and research grants, which will undoubtedly boost the scientific level of the hospital's Anaesthesiology Service even further”. Achieving this accreditation was one of the main aims of the Pain Management project, which forms part of the Hospital Clínic Barcelona’s Strategic Plan (Nucli 2025).
The treatment of chronic pain at the Hospital Clínic
The Hospital Clínic Barcelona Pain Unit, which was launched at the hospital at the beginning of the year, has brought about a paradigm shift in the relationship between the patient and the professional, because the design of the space facilitates and promotes a more two-way communication to foster a more solid and trusting relationship between both actors, adding the figure of the caregiver as the other actor in the therapeutic team. This new relationship model involves moving from consultation to conversation. Moreover, the space was designed taking into account the needs of both patients and professionals. So, the treatments are now carried out in a more pleasant and comfprtable space.
