Dr David Crabtree

Dr David Crabtree has spent the past eight years working as a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Management, running a solo pain‑management clinic and providing comprehensive care for a wide spectrum of chronic pain conditions. His practice is firmly rooted in an evidence‑based approach, and he has developed specialist expertise by leading a dedicated pancreatitis clinic and maintaining a busy procedural injection list.

Teaching forms a core part of his role; he regularly delivers sessions to patient groups covering the nature of pain, medication use and self‑management strategies. Dr Crabtree is also a core member of a complex multidisciplinary triage team, where he helps ensure that each patient receives coordinated, holistic care that draws on the skills of all relevant specialties.

His primary clinical interest lies in interventional pain management. Dr Crabtree is proficient in a range of injection procedures—spinal, cervical, knee, shoulder and peripheral‑nerve blocks—performed under both ultrasound and radiographic guidance. He is committed to multidisciplinary, evidence‑based care, always striving to deliver treatment plans that are both comprehensive and centred on the patient’s individual needs.

Beyond the bedside, he has a proven record of clinical leadership. He has driven quality‑improvement initiatives and co‑design projects that have reshaped service delivery within his department. Education is another passion; he supports both patients and fellow professionals in developing a deeper understanding of pain mechanisms and effective management strategies.

Dr Crabtree holds a Master of Research (MRes) with Merit from the University of Manchester and has built a strong track record in both research and quality‑improvement work. He is the lead for Your Pain Journey (2024), a co‑design, transformational project aimed at enhancing persistent‑pain support across Stockport. For this initiative he competitively secured a £40 000 award from the Health Foundation. In 2021 Dr Crabtree led the ROSE Project, a quality‑improvement programme designed to help patients reduce opioid use; this work also attracted £40 000 of Health Foundation funding. His capability in this arena is underpinned by formal quality‑improvement training through the AQUA programme, which equipped him with expertise in evaluation, innovation and the application of evidence‑based practice.

Leadership and management remain integral to Dr Crabtree’s career. He continues to serve as Clinical Lead for Stockport Pain Management, where he oversees service development, governance and high‑level decision‑making, and as Department Chair for the Anaesthetic Department, coordinating complex services while ensuring robust clinical governance. In 2019 he completed the NHS Rosalind Franklin Programme, sharpening his strategic leadership capabilities—particularly in influencing, collaboration and systems thinking. As Lead for Anaesthetic Sustainability, he has successfully balanced clinical priorities with organisational and regulatory responsibilities, delivering change initiatives that improve environmental stewardship while maintaining high standards of patient care. Collectively, these experiences have equipped Dr Crabtree with a blend of clinical expertise, teaching aptitude and managerial acumen that he brings to every role he undertakes.

Dr Crabtree’s publication record includes a poster presentation on “Motor‑Sparing Blocks” delivered at the National Acute Pain Symposium, a first‑author article titled “Common Functional Pain Syndrome” published in BJA Education in 2016, and a co‑authored research paper - “Synthesis of embryonic tendon‑like tissue by human marrow stromal/mesenchymal stem cells requires a three‑dimensional environment and transforming growth factor β3” - appearing in Matrix Biology in 2010.

Dr Crabtree possesses extensive experience in teaching and training at multiple levels of medical education. He regularly contributes to Pain FRCA teaching, provides supervision and appraisal as a consultant appraiser, and mentors senior trainees and medical students. He has completed Part 1 of a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education, giving his educational practice a solid formal foundation. Within the pain‑management programme he delivers regular teaching sessions and has presented at regional GP teaching events, ensuring that specialist knowledge reaches a wide professional audience. In addition, he contributes to life‑support instruction on a dental sedation course, reflecting the breadth of his educational involvement across disciplines.