On December 2,  EUSEM President Dr. Robert Leach was invited to participate in a discussion at the European Parliament in Brussels on the "Future EU Legislation on Emergency Communications," organised by the European Emergency Number Association (EENA 112).

The event, hosted by Grégory Allione, MEP, focused on the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. During the session, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Leonid Tymchenko, presented on the challenges of maintaining emergency response networks during wartime. Also present at the event was Hans Das, the Deputy Director-General of ECHO (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations).

After the discussion, the Deputy Minister and Dr. Leach visited the 112 emergency centre in Brussels.

The attached image shows Dr. Leach with Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Leonid Tymchenko

This updated handbook is designed to improve the assessment and management of acute pain in emergency and pre-hospital settings across Europe. Developed under the auspices of EUSEM and the European Pain Initiative, it offers practical, evidence-based strategies tailored for first responders, paramedics, and emergency physicians.

Since our 2020 edition, the pain management landscape has evolved significantly, driven by the opioid crisis, advances in multimodal therapies, and the growing role of technology in clinical decision-making. Pain remains the most common reason for emergency attendance, yet its treatment is still inconsistent. These guidelines aim to address that gap with updated, safer, and more individualised approaches.

New in this edition is a refined alignment with the WHO framework. It encourages judicious opioid use, promotes non-opioid strategies, and emphasises repeated, structured pain assessment using validated tools. Special attention is given to vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and patients with cognitive or substance use disorders.

The handbook retains essential content from the previous edition, including pain physiology and assessment methods, and now includes updated clinical algorithms, decision aids, and guidance on integrating point-of-care technology.

Our goal is to promote more consistent, compassionate, and effective pain care rooted in evidence, equity, and clinical excellence.

On behalf of the European Pain Initiative, I extend my sincere thanks to the dedicated committee members and EUSEM colleagues who contributed to this important work.

Special thanks also to Aguettant for their unrestricted grant, which supported the development of this handbook.

Professor Saïd Hachimi-Idrissi
University of Ghent, Belgium

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