Dr Karen Hilary Simpson

Practising at

Spire Leeds Hospital

Treatment information

Some of the principal treatments carried out by Dr Karen Hilary Simpson at Spire include:

• Back pain investigations (discography)
• Neuralgia (nerve pain) treatment
• Joint pain treatment (joint injections)
• Pain management injections for back and facet joints
• Pain management
• Headache treatments
• Spinal cord stimulation
• Epidural injections

Other treatments

Professional profile

I have been a consultant in the Leeds NHS Trust since 1987. Pain problems I treat include: chronic spinal pain, post-whiplash injury pain, headaches/migraine, peripheral nerve problems, post-amputation pain, cancer pain, joint pains, complex regional pain syndrome, post-surgical pain, post-traumatic pain, brachial plexus pain and various musculoskeletal pains. I am also interested in pain of trauma, surgery and pain of nervous system origin e.g. complex regional pain syndrome and its management.

Treatments I offer include medication management, nerve blocks (e.g. epidural and facet joint injections) and can recommend when referral for other physical techniques and psychological interventions to manage pain would be appropriate.

I am experienced in most interventional pain management and offer spinal cord stimulation at the Spire Leeds. I am experienced in acupuncture and TENS.

I have held officer/committee membership for 30 years for national bodies with responsibility for training/education. My commitment is evidenced by my total publications: 8 textbooks, 25 chapters, 90 papers/editorials/reviews. I have presented at 30 international meetings and 120 national meetings (20 in the last 5 years). As British Pain Society secretary/chair professional standards committee faculty of pain medicine I produced many national recommendations for clinical practice and patient information. 2009-2013: Chair Professional Standards Committee; responsible for revalidation in Pain Medicine; I chaired sub-groups e.g. training and competency in spinal cord stimulation, intrathecal drug delivery, epidurals for spinal pain.

1999-2013: Editor Continuing Education in Anaesthesia Critical Care and Pain; writing, commissioning, reviewing articles and mapping them against the syllabus for training in anaesthesia.

2000-2016: active in curriculum development in Pain and Palliative Medicine. 2002-date: member of European group working on initiatives in pain management; newsletter editor; circulation 50,000 in 5 languages. 2007-2014: Board member (2 years Vice Dean) Faculty of Pain Medicine Royal College of Anaesthetists. 2013-2016: Clinical lead national Pain Management in Prisons educational initiative.

I am co-author of the BMA Book of the Year 2015.

Clinical Interests

Private contact details

Qualification and professional memberships

MBChB / Leeds / 1979
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

FRCA / England / 1983
Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists

FFPMRCA / UK / 2008
Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists

Diploma in Medical Acupuncture / Britain / 2000
Diploma in Medical Acupuncture

Professional memberships

British Medical Acupuncture Society
Expert Witness Institute
International Association for the Study of Pain
British Pain Society

Professional leadership

Editor of Pain Europe newsletter
FPM representative RCA safe anaesthesia liaison group
FPM representative on RCA revalidation committee
Chairman of FFPMRCA examination

Current NHS posts

Honorary consultant in anaesthesia and pain medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust
Honorary consultant, St Gemma's Hospice
Senior clinical lecturer, University of Leeds