Acute Pain Service
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Overview
The Acute Pain Service (APS) at The Ottawa Hospital provides specialized support for patients experiencing acute or complex pain during their hospital stay. Led by anesthesiologists, the APS team works closely with other hospital services—including Palliative Care, the Substance Use Program and the Rehab Centre Pain Clinic—to help manage pain safely and effectively.
Established in 1990, our APS program was one of the first of its kind in Canada and continues to grow to meet the needs of our patients. We provide consultative coverage at both the Civic and General campuses, helping patients manage pain related to surgery, injury or complex medical conditions.
Services
The Acute Pain Service (APS) provides specialized pain management for patients admitted to hospital with acute pain following major surgery or trauma. Our team offers advanced techniques to help control pain safely and effectively.
Pain management options include:
Intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) using opioids
Continuous epidural infusions
Intravenous infusions of lidocaine and ketamine
Nerve blocks with continuous local anesthetic infusions
We also use advanced oral multi-modal pain management strategies and continue to expand care pathways for common conditions such as rib fractures, hip fractures and lower limb amputations.
Team
Dr. Sarah Tierney
Corporate Medical Director of The Ottawa Hospital Acute Pain Service and Civic Campus Medical Lead for Acute Pain Service
Jennifer Taylor, BScN, MEd
Advanced Practice Nurse
Julie-Anne Houle
Registered Nurse
Allison Wall, BScN
Registered Nurse
Dr. Catherine Smyth
General Campus Medical Lead for Acute Pain ServiceAt the Civic and General campuses, a group of physicians with a sub-specialty interest in acute pain take turns supporting the Acute Pain Service each week. Our dedicated nursing team with considerable pain management expertise, offer continuous coverage during weekdays.
Referrals
The APS sees patients by referral only.
Patients with chronic pain or a history of significant opioid use who are scheduled for major surgery should ideally be referred to Anesthesiology through the Pre-Assessment Unit. This allows for a personalized pain management plan before, during and after surgery.
APS may also be consulted to help manage pain in trauma cases, during procedures, after surgery when pain persists, or in non-surgical patients when oral multi-modal pain management has not been effective.
Referrals must come directly from the attending physician. Contact by phone or through Epic is strongly encouraged.