
ACT Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Meegan Fitzharris talks with ACT Pain Centre founder, Dr Romil Jain. Photos: Supplied.
A pioneering private medical centre dedicated to helping people with chronic pain has opened on Canberra’s north side.
The ACT Pain Centre located at the Calvary Clinic in Bruce is the first of its kind in Australia, and aims to deliver affordable pain management and decrease the waiting period for treatment for both public and private patients.
ACT Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Meegan Fitzharris officially opened the centre on Monday (3 September), and founder Dr Romil Jain said it would be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for pain management offering access to pain specialists, a psychiatrist, addiction psychiatrist, and allied therapists such as physiotherapists, psychologists and occupational therapists all under the one roof, with a range of services that took a holistic approach to chronic pain management.
Dr Jain said that one in five Australians suffered from chronic pain, while at the same time the use of opioids and other painkillers was rising and accidental deaths associated with prescription medications outnumbered road deaths.
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Every Thursday afternoon, we package up the most-read and trending RiotACT stories of the past seven days and deliver straight to your inbox..“We aim to decrease the burden of disease in our community, and help contain the opioid epidemic. We aim not only to treat chronic pain but also work on the preventative aspect which is frequently forgotten,” he said.
“Early intervention in a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary supportive environment is the key to prevent a vicious cycle of pain and its effect on a person’s life.”
Calling chronic pain a hidden disease, he said it was the third most costly health condition costing the Australian economy and the most common cause for people leaving the work force.
“Sadly, it’s still under-recognised and treated. It’s a very complex interaction of chronic pain, mental health and drug dependency that makes it challenging to treat,” he said.

The Minister and Dr Jain with Pain Centre staff.
Dr Jain, who is a Specialist Pain Medicine Physician and Interventional Pain Specialist, and the Director of the Pain Management Unit at the Canberra Hospital, said it was difficult for chronic pain sufferers, who usually have to get public transport because they can’t drive, to travel from the north side to Woden.
He said that if the ACT Pain Centre could get patients who can afford it off the public waiting list, that made the public system more efficient and more accessible for patients who need treatment.
“It’s time that we think out of the box and stop relying on public hospitals for everything; we have to break this distinction of private versus public and work in collaboration to help and serve our fellow beings because pain doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor, man or woman,” he said.
“Pain is such a hush-hush issue, but we want to bring it out into the open and say to sufferers: you don’t have to live like this and help is available to empower you to manage your pain in a better way.”
What’s Your opinion?
New northside centre to provide relief for chronic pain sufferers
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Something else for the Minister to mismanage and blow out the costs of
Hopefully not, because this is much needed! 😢
Liney Carr seems like a good place for you to try
Lauren Samantha id like to seem them try target something like what you have. Long shot but...
Will pass it on
I truly hope this is a positive,for many of us , hope all are lucky enough to receive this opportunity , it’s maybe a positive for many 💕😘👏🏻👏🏻and might I add affordable to all who needs ! one can only I’ve on hope 😗
Kaitlin Mesics
Good news
Darcy Bee-Hickman. Help is here
Bronnie Lennox Thompson...look what's coming my way. I might go along and find out what they say about my chronic back pain
Sarah Stewart this looks really good! ACT is my favourite framework...
Bronnie Lennox Thompson have a laugh... In this instance, the ACT refers to the where I live.. The Australian Capital Authority 😁
Will they utilise LLLT?
Is this different to the Pain Management clinic at TCH?
From reading the article, I don’t think so. I have some contacts on a professional level with staff at TCH, and they are changing and streamlining the program. It sounds like this is to reduce waiting times by having another option for those who can afford it. Can’t comment further as this article is the only info I have seen
As a pensioner, I’m wondering what “ affordable” pain management looks like.
If they want to break the distinction between public and private then they might want to address the bullying and waiting times.
The gap between public and private is huge