Continence

Community Continence Service
The Community Continence Service consists of specialist nurses who provide professional advice, support and education to Sandwell patients about promoting continence (controlling the bladder and bowels) and managing incontinence.

We work in partnership with other health and social care professionals across Sandwell to provide care that is as sensitive as possible, and recognised as the most up-to-date accepted practice.

Patients in Birmingham can receive support, advice and assessment for continence issues from Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

Team

Community Continence Team Leader
Denise Owen

Community Continence Advisors
Helen Bateman
Julie Hopkins-Budd
Lisa Stewart

Community Continence Advisor – Care Homes
Elizabeth Crisp

Community Healthcare Assistant
Meena Khatun

Community Administrators
Julie Bullock
Julia Raybould
Tracey Watson

FINCH (Faecal Incontinence and Chronic Constipation Healthcare) Service
Kathryn Gill
Kelly Stackhouse
Elizabeth Clarson
Jodie Smith

Services

If you or someone you care for are having problems with bladder or bowel incontinence, you can contact the service by calling us for an informal chat about your concerns. You’ll find us very easy to talk to.

Bladder Symptom Clinic
If you live in Sandwell and are having problems with your bladder you may be referred to a bladder symptom clinic held in a GP’s surgery or a health centre. If you are referred you will be offered an appointment near to where you live, or wherever is most convenient to you. You would usually be referred to a bladder symptom clinic by your doctor, but another professional can refer you if necessary.

The clinic offers:

• bladder and bowel health examination
• specialist help and advice on managing incontinence
• help with applying catheters
• toileting programmes
• referral to consultants for further investigation where necessary

When someone is referred to a clinic they will be sent an appointment letter with a fluid intake/output chart. Patients need to fill this in for three days before the appointment. It helps advisor with the assessment and provides useful information about how much the patient drinks, and how often they go to the toilet.

Bladder symptom clinics are held at:

• Oldbury Health Centre
• Victoria Health Centre, Smethwick
• Rowley Regis Hospital
• Sai Surgery, Great Bridge
• Lyng Health Centre, West Bromwich

Tests include:

• Analysing the flow of urine and time taken for it to pass
• measuring any remaining urine in the bladder
• checking for abnormalities around the vagina, and testing the strength of muscles in the pelvis
• testing for changes in your urine, such as blood or protein.

All the clinics offer assessment tests, treatment and therapies in a private, confidential, relaxed atmosphere.

Bowel problems
The FINCH (Faecal Incontinence and Chronic Constipation Healthcare) service delivers investigations, treatments and advice for patients experiencing bowel problems such as faecal incontinence, constipation and rectal evacuatory dysfunction. It consists of two consultants and three specialist nurses, all specially trained in pelvic floor disorders. The service provides patients with a range of treatments including biofeedback, irrigation, bowel retraining programmes and neuromodulation. This service is open to all patients, regardless of where you live.

The FINCH service also offers an Integrated Care Pathway for patients suffering faecal incontinence and faecal leakage. The integrated Care Pathway delivers specialised assessment and treatments, streamlines the patient’s journey and minimises the patient’s embarrassment, as well as ensuring that the right treatment is given to the right patient in the right environment. Access to the service is by referral from a healthcare professional such as your GP, practice nurse or community continence team, and is delivered at the Lyng Centre in West Bromwich. Please note that the Integrated Care Pathway is currently only open to those registered with a Sandwell GP.

Continence Products Home Delivery Service
The Home Delivery Service provides continence products for Sandwell children and adults in their own homes and within care homes. To access this service, patients must be registered with a Sandwell GP and have had a full assessment by a nurse, such as a district nurse.

Hospital Continence Service
When patients are admitted to wards at City, Sandwell or Rowley Regis Hospitals they are given a full continence assessment by nursing staff. Their needs are then supported. If staff feel further support is needed, they will then be seen by a specialist nurse.

On discharge, if pads and further continence support are needed, a referral will be made by nurses on the ward to ensure the service continues at home. This is provided by the Community Continence and District Nursing teams.

There are a number of outpatient clinics that are run for urological problems and to provide treatment for urinary incontinence at the Birmingham Treatment Centre.  Referral through your GP is needed to access these.

Continence Service User Group
This group, established in 2004, holds informal meetings four times a year in March, June, September and December, 10.30am – 12.30pm. The group is run by a continence nurse and clerical staff, and is a great opportunity to meet people and hear from guest speakers. Please call 0121 612 1599 for details.

Nursing homes
The Community Continence service has a dedicated advisor for nursing home residents in Sandwell. Any residents with a continence problem are given an assessment by a trained member of staff which is then forwarded to an advisor. The advisor can supply products and advice to help people with incontinence. These include:

• continence assessment
• catheters for men and women
• product training
• bowel care

All clients have a review of their continence problem and products every six months. The continence advisor also provides training and education to all staff at the care homes.

Patient Stories

“The contience service and user group have helped us to lead a normal life. We are now not afraid to go out and about without having to worry about finding a toilet.”

“The service is good and friendly. I have had no problems with the delivery service.”

“The service is very good and the nurses approachable and interested in my problems.”

“Very impressed with the service and the people involved.”

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A rapid referral

A woman in her 70s was bothered by soreness around her vulva, causing her particular discomfort in sitting. When she was seen by a continence clinic physiotherapist, a rapid onward referral was made to the vulval clinic, where the patient was given advice on the management of her condition.

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Patient empowerment

A young man in his 20s had coccyx pain. He was found to have difficulty in tightening his pelvic floor muscles and his symptoms improved with exercising his pelvic floor muscles correctly. As his ability to exercise his muscles improved, his symptoms reduced further.

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Please feel free to share your experiences of this service. Please email your views to swbh.comms@nhs.net

Patient Information

Leaflets

Sandwell Children’s Continence Service – Ready Steady Toilet (ML6380)

Useful websites

Bladder & Bowel UK
bbuk.org.uk

Contacts

The SWB Continence Service is based at The Lyng Centre for Health & Social Care, Frank Fisher Way, West Bromwich, B70 7AW

Continence service/user groups/queries – 0121 507 2664 Option 3, then Option 2

Home Delivery – 0121 507 2664 Opt 3, then Option 1

You can also email the team at continence.team2@nhs.net