VAT Down to 15% in December
From the 1st December 2008 all VAT on products will be down to 15%.
Not such a bad thing with Christmas around the corner!
Visit Allanda for all your incontinence products and advice.
Carers Get an Extra Special Christmas Bonus
Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced a one-off winter bonus payment of £60 for all carers who are entitled to benefits such as Carer’s Allowance.
This payment will be in addition to the usual £10 Christmas bonus that is given every year.
A parent carer and development worker for Parent Carers’ Voice, said: ‘Anything that helps carers and families is very welcome.’
‘Anything for families that can give finances a boost is great, especially at this time with rising fuel costs, Christmas and everything else.’
He adds: ‘Christmas is difficult for families, especially on low incomes, as their finances tend to be stretched during the winter.’
The chief executive of national campaigning charity Carers UK also welcomed the news. But said that a permanent improvement to finances was needed and she would continue to fight for this.
She said: ‘We welcome the announcement in the Pre-Budget Report that carers will receive an additional £60 payment in the New Year.’
‘This will go some way towards meeting the additional costs that carers face with high food and fuel bills this winter.’
‘The total cost of this payment is around £55m and over 900,000 carers across the UK will benefit.’
She adds: ‘This extra payment doesn’t solve the many problems with Carer’s Allowance, but it will help carers struggling to make ends meet during the current economic crisis.’
Allanda can provide you with all the incontinence products and advice you need this Christmas!
More Women are Having C-Sections Because of the Risk of Incontinence
More and more women are having C-sections, which could be partly due to concerns about the dangers of vaginal delivery, Dr. C. E. Turner of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney reports.
Australian researchers have sought to put a number on how much risk pregnant women would be willing to accept before opting for a C-section. They looked at 17 potential complications, including various degrees of vaginal tearing, faecal incontinence or urinary incontinence.
For each of the complications, the participants gave a percentage for the risk they would be willing to accept before deciding on a C-section.
Pregnant women were least willing to accept the risk of severe anal incontinence; on average, they said that if the risk of having this complication was any greater than 32% they would want a C-section.
Emergency C-section, moderate anal incontinence, severe urinary incontinence, and severe tears were less acceptable to pregnant women than pain, less severe tears, and prolonged labour.
Severe or moderate anal incontinence and urinary incontinence were among the top 5 least acceptable risks for the pregnant women.
‘When the women were informed of these rates at the end of the interview, they felt generally relieved.’
The researchers are currently involved in a study looking at whether women’s views changed after giving birth.
Allanda can provide all the products and advice for all your incontinence needs.
Stoma Nurse Wins Award for Continence Programme
Claire Bohr, a paediatric nurse from the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, is the winner of the continence category at the Nursing Times Awards 2008.
Ms Claire Bohr introduced a bowel management programme using transanal irrigation for children experiencing faecal incontinence and soiling problems.
During her time working with the children, she found that some of the children experienced social isolation, lack of self-esteem and name calling at school due to their condition.
As a result the nurse came up with a solution that could help, she identified that transanal irrigation was used in Europe and US but not in the UK, as no specifically designed equipment was available.
Working with her medical colleagues, Claire implemented a programme using anal irrigation with very positive results for the children in her care.
Judges were impressed by Ms Bohr’s ability to look beyond the scope of her role as a stoma nurse and work with medical colleagues and industry to find solutions for her patients.
Carer Visits Minister to Improve Help for Carers
A Norwich carer has taken her fight to Westminster in an attempt to get a better deal for carers.
Mrs Maxwell took stories and comments of members of the Chill4Us carers’ website to the shadow minister Stephen O’Brien to read, about the real issues faced by carers every day.
Mrs Maxwell said: ‘We were impressed with Mr O’Brien’s ideas and he kindly gave us over an hour of his time to listen to some of the stories about the circumstances carers face daily.’
‘Our members had also posted their stories and comments on the site and he was genuinely pleased to be given a copy of these and said he would take the time to read them.’
During the meeting, Mr O’Brien set out his plans to help carers. This includes making planned and emergency respite provision a priority and promoting flexible working options for carers.
They would also like to see carers assessed at the same time as the cared-for so their needs are also taken into consideration, for example with regard to fuel poverty.
Another change Mr O’Brien proposed was for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to consider the effects on carers when reviewing the cost-effectiveness of treatments or new drugs and whether these should be available for free on the NHS.
He also wants to ensure doctors spend time in care homes as part of their training and create an NHS board and health watch group to manager and monitor services.
Research into most effective incontinence products
The Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (NIHR HTA) have been doing reaserch into the most effective incontinence products.
The NHS, nursing homes and public spend around £94 million per year on incontinence pads. However, the research base for users and medical practitioners making informed choices between different incontinence product designs is very poor.
The study led by Dr Mandy Fader of the University of Southampton compared the cost-effectiveness of the key product design groups in three clinical trials. Trial one recruited 85 women with light urinary incontinence living in the community; trial 2a looked at 85 moderate/heavily incontinent adults living in the community; and trial 2b involved 100 moderate/heavily incontinent adults living in nursing homes. Researchers measured product performance (e.g. leakage and discreetness), acceptability and participants’ preferences, for the different designs.
The research team found that for light incontinence disposable inserts were the most effective design out of the four tested in trial one. However, some women preferred menstrual pads or washable pants, which were both cheaper. For moderate/heavily incontinent adults both trial 2a and 2b found that disposable pull-ups were the most effective and acceptable for women, and for men disposable diapers were better overall and the most cost-effective design.
“Our research showed that the performance and acceptability of designs varied between users and allowing them to choose combinations of designs for different circumstances within a budget may offer the best solution,” says Dr Fader. “The results of this trial will help provide a more solid basis for guiding selection and purchase of incontinence pads.”
All about incontinence has an incontinence help and advice section or for more general enquires you can email our Nurse specialist, Shona
Families in Cambridgeshire Encouraged to Become Foster Carers
Cambridgeshire County Council is attempting to encourage more families to foster children as part of National Adoption Week.
The number of looked-after children in Cambridgeshire has continued to rise to over 400, but the current number of foster carers in the county is unable to meet this high demand.
This week, the Fostering Service at the council wants to encourage more adopted children and their families to join support groups across Cambridgeshire.
The service is also particularly looking for foster carers who could offer placements to teenage girls and sibling groups on a permanent basis to be either permanently fostered or adopted.
Cllr Martin Curtis, council cabinet member for children said: ‘We need foster families for Cambridgeshire’s children who cannot live with their birth families.’
‘Every child is special and needs to grow up in a loving, secure family. But many have had a very difficult or chaotic start in life, and now need stability.’
New Incontinence Product Approved for Marketing in the USA
The medical manufacturing company EastMed Inc., which is catered specifically for women’s health, has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its flagship product.
The company’s CEO, James Lodigiani said. ‘We are delighted to get the official word from the FDA.’
Uresta Continence Care is designed to stop bladder leakage and help women to manage incontinence with a conservative alternative to traditional products and surgery.
It is estimated 1 in 3 women worldwide have incontinence and more than half of those have urinary infection.
Founder of EastMed. said: Urinary infection ‘is a widespread, life-altering condition and requires a solution that women can easily and comfortably manage.’
EastMed Inc. was awarded the 2008 Medical Design Excellence Award in recognition of its innovative design for women who suffer with urinary infection and is available by description in the USA.
Incontinence Challenge
We can imagine the embarrassment and inconvenience that incontinence can cause in women, dealing with some of the embarrassing symptoms is only half of the battle.
Incontinence can also have psychological impacts on women. Reports suggest some women suffering from stress incontinence have put their social life on hold and refuse to go out of the house or go away on holiday.
NHS Direct estimates that one in five UK women over 40 suffer from stress incontinence, which is often caused by childbirth or menopause, and that incontinence can affect women of all ages.
Fortunately there are many solutions available to help women get over incontinence and live a normal life. One of these solutions is a revolutionary product that was launched late last year called IncoStress.(available to buy here in our shop)
IncoStress British female inventor Gaynor Morgan is so aware of the problems and inconvenience caused by incontinence she is issuing a challenge to all British women with any degree of stress incontinence or bladder weakness symptoms.
The Five Step IncoStress Laugh & Leak Challenge
1. If you suffer any degree of stress incontinence – bladder weakness do something about it this week
2. Talk to your doctor to check for underlying problems
3. Research and buy a stress incontinence alleviation product
4. Take up an activity you have avoided because of incontinence
5. Talk to your friends and encourage them to do something about it