POLICY NUMBER 34
SPINAL CORD STIMULATION
(Summary Version)
Policy
The CCG will commission spinal cord stimulation if ALL the following criteria are met:
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The patient has pain of neuropathic origin
The pain has persisted for more than 6 months
The pain measures at least 50 mm on a 0–100 mm visual analogue scale.
The patient has tried all available medical and surgical management methods for their pain
The view of the specialist in pain management (working as part of a multidisciplinary team
familiar with the fitting and management of spinal cord stimulators) is that the benefits of
the procedure outweigh the risks
The patient has had a good response to a spinal cord stimulator trial with pain reduction of
at least 50%
If different spinal cord stimulation systems are considered to be equally suitable for treating a
patient with severe chronic neuropathic pain, the least costly should be used.
The CCG will NOT commission spinal cord stimulation for pain of ischaemic origin (including
Ischaemic Limb Disease and Refractory Angina).
Exceptions
The clinical commissioning group will consider exceptions to this policy. This policy is based on
criteria of appropriateness, effectiveness, cost effectiveness and ethical issues. A successful request
to be regarded as an exception is likely to be based on evidence that the patient differs from the
usual group of patients to which the policy applies, and this difference substantially changes the
application of those criteria for this patient.
Requests for funding under exceptional circumstances may be submitted to the CCG’s Individual
Funding Request Panel using the following forms: Adults / Children
Full policy
http://www.fyldeandwyreccg.nhs.uk/download/policies/commissioning/Commissioning-Policy-No34-Spinal-Cord-Stimulation.pdf