The Pain Exchange
Charity registration number 1166229
The Church of St Dunstan with St Thomas Friars Place Lane W3
Sharon Morgans MCSP MMACP MSK Physiotherapist HCPC reg. PH40366
admin@painexchangeteam.org
The Pain Exchange (PEX) Trustees Report 1[st] January-31[st] December 2023
Welcome to The Pain Exchange (PEX), annual report for the year 2023. Pain Exchange is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) that seeks to support those living with long-term pain. The trustees are Audette James, Retha Welding and James Riddiough. Sharon Morgans manages the PEX and sits on the board of trustees.
Staffing at the Pain Exchange 2023
The Trustees would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers and staff who have enabled the work of the Pain Exchange this year, notably: Sue Bolton, a volunteer, for her work welcoming and caring for the participants; Leidy Moreno the PEX art teacher - the art classes are popular, and we thank Leidy for her expertise. We thank Fleur Borrelli for providing nutritional workshops – her knowledge and empathy are highly valued. Miranda Leslie joined the PEX in January 2023 working as a volunteer, supporting Sue. Miranda was with us for 8 months before moving to Australia to start a teaching role in Bible School - thank you, Miranda, for your time and compassion and organisational skills. Camilla Marriot and Sarah Yates joined us in September to help with the art classes and we are grateful to them for their time, gentleness, and enthusiasm. Ros Yates rejoined us as a volunteer after returning to the UK. Ros has started craft classes and has been a significant help with the gardening project. Thank you, Ros, for your creative talents and your love of people and nature. In September we also welcomed a new administrator, Helena Maitland. She is a most welcome addition to the team and her previous background working as a lawyer is a great asset. Helena, thank you for going the extra mile. Niloo is another most welcome addition to the team. She is a yoga teacher and is running online yoga and relaxation classes specific to people who live with long-term pain. These classes reach out to those who live outside of London and feedback from the sessions has been excellent - thank you, Niloo.
Guy Sears has once again kindly offered his time to check and prepare the presentation of the PEX accounts. His time and expertise are invaluable.
Sharon Morgans would like to take this opportunity to thank her fellow trustees for their time, their individual skills and wisdom in guiding the PEX service. Huge thanks to Audette, James and Retha.
Services provided at the PEX 2023
The PEX continues to provide face-to-face exercise and relaxation classes, art classes, and workshops including nutrition. The 1:1 physiotherapy assessment continues, providing opportunities for participants to discuss new health issues or concerns and to set new goals. These sessions are an opportunity to direct support appropriate to participants' needs, e.g. onward referral for medical consultations; social services; psychological support; forms of support available at the PEX and other third sector support services, such as the foodbank. Time to socialize together is valued by participants and the PEX continues to provide this through coffee time, PEX lunches, community lunches in conjunction with St. Dunstan’s church, the gardening project and education workshops.
Service Outcomes and Developments at the PEX
Sharon Morgans presented the PEX outcomes at the European Pain Conference in Budapest in September 2023. This generated interest regarding the outcome measures used. The hope for the future is that the PEX will be able to validate these outcome measures.
Due to unforeseen illness the PEX was forced to close its doors for 2 months in April and May 2023. This revealed one of the vulnerabilities of the PEX in terms of staffing. It became noticeably clear that an additional physiotherapist is needed to sustain the service. The good news was that the PEX received an unexpected and significant donation. This has been used to employ an administrator whose current key role is to apply for additional funding that will help sustain the PEX over the next 2-3 years. The money has also been used to fund Niloo, who is running the online exercise and relaxation classes.
Review of 2023 and hopes for 2024
As in 2022, 2023 was a year that provided challenges and highlights. The illness of one of team and the necessity of closing the service for two months was one of the disappointments of the year. On the other hand, one of the highs for the year was receiving an unexpected large donation. This donation meant that we were able to fund an administrator to focus on grant applications as well as a yoga instructor to focus on provision of online classes. Thus, two of the hopes for 2023 were realised. However, recruitment and funding remain key issues facing the PEX. A second physiotherapist is
key to sustaining and growing the service. With respect to funding, a sustainable source of funding would be helpful to improve longer-term service planning and development. We know from enquiries through our website that this is a service that people are looking for, but PEX cannot meet evident demand. The hope for 2024 is to secure a sustainable source of funding that will enable a service that can expand. The PEX is now in a strong position to achieve this.
Another highlight of 2023 was the start of the community garden. Many people helped construction, planting, and maintenance of the garden. Furthermore, several people got to enjoy eating the produce. The community garden offers another opportunity for building social and physical confidence and gardening is well recognised as having benefits for mental health. We look forward to assessing the impact of the garden project on PEX participants.
A continued challenge for the PEX Trustees is the knowledge that there is a huge need for the support that the PEX offers, (persistent pain affects approximately 23% of the UK population). The PEX continues to receive enquiries from across the UK, regarding access to similar services locally. So far, we have been unable to find any other services like the PEX. Therefore, a hope for the future is that the PEX can expand and offer support to more people both locally and across the UK, or help others set up a similar service.
A continuing challenge Is to develop links with NHS and social services. The main barriers to this are time, as our service, NHS, and social services are all stretched. Our hope for 2024 is to develop an online directory of NHS and social services and third sector services available to those who live with the bio-psychosocial impact of persistent pain. The PEX hopes to build links with these services and be able to signpost PEX service users to the support that they need in a timely fashion. The 2012 National Pain Audit noted the importance of the right treatment at the right time and the PEX aims to promote this.
Receipt and payments accounts and
statement of assets and liabilities of
| statement of assets and liabilities of | |
|---|---|
| The Pain Exchange, a CIO, for theyear ended | 31 December |
| 2023 | |
| Incoming Resources | £ |
| Class income and donations | 13,950.48 |
| Grants | 0.00 |
| Interest on bank accounts | 0.00 |
| Total Income | 13,950.48 |
| Direct Charitable Expenditure | |
| Course leaders | (4,749.40) |
| Rent | (600.00) |
| Website | (267.00) |
| Equipment & materials | (267.98) |
| Food & drink | (106.03) |
| Utilities | 0.00 |
| insurance | (791.94) |
| other misc expenses | 0.00 |
| fundraising | 0.00 |
| Total Direct Charitable Expenditure | (6,782.35) |
| Other Expenditure | |
| Administration | (246.06) |
| Total Expenditure | (7,028.41) |
| Net income/expenditure for theyear | 6,922.07 |
| Net movement in funds | 6,922.07 |
| Net assets at 1 January 2023 | 8,426.20 |
| Net assets at 31 December 2023 | 15,348.27 |
| represented by (there being no liabilities, no | |
| guarantees | |
| and no express charges over any assets): | |
| Cash at bank | 15,282.31 |
| Float cash | 66.36 |
PRIOR YEAR
Receipt and payments accounts and
statement of assets and liabilities of
| The Pain Exchange, a CIO, for theyear ended | 31 December |
|---|---|
| 2022 | |
| Incoming Resources | £ |
| Class income and donations | 5,975.09 |
| Total Income | 5,975.09 |
| Direct Charitable Expenditure | |
| Course leaders | (3,496.89) |
| Rent | (2,050.00) |
| Website | (267.00) |
| Equipment & materials | (716.30) |
| Food & drink | (60.34) |
| insurance | (716.95) |
| other misc expenses | (129.55) |
| Total Direct Charitable Expenditure | (7,437.03) |