Professor Romy Parker, director of the Pain Management Unit at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and clinician at Groote Schuur Hospital’s Chronic Pain Management Clinic, is leading efforts to transform how South Africa addresses pain treatment. Her work spans clinical care, research, and education, with a focus on improving the understanding and management of chronic pain across the country.
At Groote Schuur Hospital’s specialised clinic, Parker and her interdisciplinary team deliver assessments and treatments for chronic pain sufferers. UCT also underlines the importance of her role as course convener for the Postgraduate Diploma in Interdisciplinary Pain Management—the first programme of its kind in Africa—which seeks to equip health professionals with much-needed training in pain treatment.
“Pain is divided into two broad types: acute and chronic,” Parker explained in a recent profile published by the Mail & Guardian. She stressed that pain is poorly taught in South Africa’s healthcare system. “It isn’t taught, which means too few healthcare professionals understand it and that means they’re unable to treat it properly.” This education gap, Parker argues, contributes to widespread under-treatment of pain in both public and private healthcare settings.
Her advocacy work includes collaboration with PainSA, an organisation developing a South African National Pain Strategy to address this systemic issue. PainSA describes the strategy as a framework covering policy, education, training, treatment delivery, research, and public awareness. Parker refers to this strategy as “a map of all the things that contribute to pain not being managed properly, with recommendations on how to address those issues.” The group also highlights the development of standard operating procedures and clinical guidelines as critical components.
Since starting as a lecturer at UCT in 2005, Parker has integrated pain management into physiotherapy education and expanded her influence by joining PainSA in 2010. Under her leadership, the organisation has broadened beyond a primarily doctor-led, medicine-focused approach to one that emphasises interdisciplinary care.
In 2024, UCT published the open-access textbook Understanding Pain: Unravelling the Physiology, Assessment, and Management of Pain through South African Stories, co-edited by Parker. The book aims to provide accessible, locally relevant information for health practitioners and has been widely downloaded, according to a Mail & Guardian report.
Parker’s roles also reportedly include serving two terms as PainSA president and membership on the council of the International Association for the Study of Pain, although these details have not been independently verified.
Her work is significant given that pain remains the primary reason patients seek medical care, yet most health professionals lack formal training in managing it effectively. Parker’s push for a national strategy and enhanced education aims to change that reality, improving patient outcomes across South Africa.
The challenges remain complex, involving clinical, educational, and policy layers. However, Parker’s multidisciplinary approach and commitment to reform continue to draw attention to the need for better pain management strategies within the national healthcare agenda.
The Cape Flats News team will monitor developments on the national pain strategy and Parker’s ongoing advocacy work for updates.