Chronic Pain and Fatigue Network

CPF network logo

Do you live with chronic pain and / or chronic fatigue?

The Chronic Pain and Fatigue (CPF) Network is a small group of staff and PGRs within the university, all with personal experience of persistent pain and/or fatigue which adversely impacts our daily living. The aim of the Network is to campaign and influence change towards more inclusive working practices, raise awareness of “hidden” conditions/symptoms, and share practices in a safe environment to enable members to develop a personal toolkit for managing chronic pain and fatigue at work.

Chronic pain and/or chronic fatigue are widely experienced by many people, yet poorly understood as health conditions. ‘Chronic’ in this context simply means ‘on-going’, without an easily predicted end point. The uncertainty associated with managing incurable pain and/or fatigue often triggers mental health issues including anxiety and depression.

The Network is run on a dedicated MS Teams space and is guided by the following principles:

• Everyone who has personal experience of chronic pain or chronic fatigue is welcome to attend and we value everyone’s experiences equally.
• We believe that each person has wisdom and expertise about their own experiences and what is likely to be real and/or helpful for them, and that this wisdom needs to be valued and respected.
• We encourage everyone who attends to contribute to decision making about both the content of the Teams space, any meetings, and the way that these are organised.

Confidentiality: Any disability or health condition you share with the Chronic Pain & Fatigue Network will not be shared by the administrators with anyone else outside of the Network. All participants in the Network undertake, by taking part, to respect one another’s right to confidentiality and will not share any personal information outside of this Network.

Support in the Workplace: It is up to you whether or not you tell the University that you are disabled or have a long term health condition. However, there could be barriers in the workplace that the University will need to change or adapt for you and it could be more difficult to provide these adjustments if the University does not know what support you need. If you require any type of workplace adjustments, you should talk to your manager or HR manager. More information about University support for Disabled Staff is available from the Equality and Inclusion Unit.

Social media: Here’s our CPF Network feed on Twitter: #PainUniLeeds.

For more details about any of the above or to join one of our working groups, please contact Lucy Prodgers (email).