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.

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.

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

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.’

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.

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

Carers will be recognised by the West Midlands Care Association (WMCA), as part of a new award being launched by a Halesowen-based association.

They will present five trophies as part of the new Central England Care Awards at the Care Show at the Birmingham NEC, on Thursday 6th November.  

Trophies include carer of the year, manager of the year and best small care home.

WMCA’s chief executive officer said: ‘There are hundreds of remarkable carers and care providers in central England whose lives and passions revolve around the care of the individuals they look after.’

‘We have been looking for a way to recognise this professionalism, dedication and skill, so were delighted when the Care Show gave us the opportunity to present the awards.’

The research done by the University of Glamorgan will ask women what information they need to help them deal with incontinence. The Study could also lead to the development of specific information tailored towards women’s needs.

This comes after research carried out by Dr Christine Shaw found that few women from incontinence seeked help for the condition.

She said: ‘Only about 15% of women with symptoms of frequency or urgency seek help largely because they are embarrassed and they believe that there is very little treatment available.’

‘There is also a lack of knowledge about the symptoms and a lot of women believe that it is just part of the ageing process or consequence of having had a baby or two.’

The study will involve about 20 women who are experiencing incontinence, in particular those who have not sought help from their GP. It will ask them about what they believe will be the best form of help for them.

Dr Shaw said: ‘One model is the expert patient programme which is a group-based intervention that helps people self-manage a condition.’

‘Another approach may be information on the internet, but because incontinence is an age-related condition, there may be issues about access.’

‘We’re trying to find out what women would prefer and what type of information they want, be it about self-management, treatment or help from health professionals.’

Incontact, a leading incontinence charity, have responded to Lord Darzi’s 12-month review of the NHS.
The review promises:

* Easy-to-access services that meet your individual needs, connected together so they make sense
* Seeing a doctor where and when you need it and keeping your local GP
* Helping you lead a full and healthy life
* More control of your health condition and support to plan, understand and manage your health

Some of Incontact’s concerns are:

The review states, “local people, health services and health professionals will be able to decide what works best in each area.” It is vital that people with bladder and /or bowel dysfunction speak out to make their voice heard. Speaking out is difficult for those with badly managed incontinence. The health inequality that many people with continence problems face must be addressed.

Incontact is however concerned that there is no mention of them having specialist knowledge. Currently many people with continence problems are denied access to a specialist continence advisor. This has led to many peoples’ leakage simply being contained and not treated or managed appropriately. New health technology is of limited value if the people who would benefit most are not made aware of the advances that have been made.

“The Draft NHS Constitution”, “NHS Next Stage Review” and related documents including “Our vision for primary and community care:- What it means for patients and the public” can be found at www.dh.gov.uk and Incontact’s response here.

The Carers Association said today that any cuts in the carers allowance in the forthcoming Budget would be a false economy.

The National Carers Strategy, in which Carers were supposed to be getting extra financial help, is now 10 months overdue.

Ireland’s family carers are the biggest contributors to Ireland’s social economy, saving the state over €2.5 billion each year by contributing three million hours of work per week, according to the Carers Association chief executive Enda Egan.

He warned that if carers are not adequately supported in the upcoming Budget they will be forced to give-up their caring work.

‘There is no question but the most cost-effective option for the State is to support the work of family carers in the home as opposed to the state providing full-time institutional care.’

‘Therefore, it makes financial sense for Government to implement our key recommendations in budget 2009. This will allow Government adhere to its own policy of caring for people in the home for as long as possible.’