I have quite painful arthritic hands, went for a short road spin last night and my hands have been really sore today.
As i spend most of the time on the hoods, are there any gel pad things i can slip under the hoods?

Join the club.
I find that padding does bugger all a lot of the time. Its the weight on my hands that makes them ache. The more upright the better and also different bars. Midge bars are great for me. If only they were narrower.