A new approach to providing continence care in an ageing population

Adrian Wagg is a Professor of Healthy Ageing at the University of Alberta, a regular author for the BGS Age and Ageing journal and General Secretary of the International Continence Society.

He will present a guest lecture on continence at the BGS Spring Meeting in March 2015. 

Incontinence is a hugely debilitating condition which affects millions of men and women worldwide.  Its incidence is rising as the proportion of people surviving into late life increases and with increasing rates of long-term conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia for which it is a symptom or complication.  It has a huge impact on the lives of our patients and their caregivers, and comes at significant cost to health and social care services.  However, it remains one of the least discussed and most poorly understood conditions.

Earlier this year, along with colleagues Diane Newman, Kai Leichsenring and Paul van Houten, I undertook a review of the way continence service are organised, which was funded and supported by leading global hygiene company, SCA.

We concluded that there is a need for a greater focus on incontinence as a health and social care issue and to ensure that adequate resources are devoted to it.  In the UK, patients are still not being seen by the right professional at the right time.  The NHS needs to develop better models of multi-disciplinary working to ensure care is person-centred, and prioritises quality of life.

Continence: my conscience is clear!

Dipti Samani is a speciality trainee registrar in Geriatric Medicine working in Leicester.

As NHS Change Day approached I thought about what I could do to help raise awareness about the issues that affect my patients. I was in the continence clinic at the time and wondered if it would be too crazy to consider wearing a continence pad for the day…

Incontinence: nature’s call to arms

William Gibson is a Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Alberta. His clinical review New Horizons in Urinary Incontinence in Older People was recently published in Age and Ageing journal. He tweets at @drbillgibson 

Urinary incontinence, the condition in which people wet themselves by accident, is a common problem for older people. Around half of older people have “bladder trouble” such as needing to rush or get up lots of times overnight to pee, and up to one in six  will have accidents.

Despite this, many people view these bladder problems as a normal part of ageing (they aren’t), or as something that can’t be treated (they can).

Bladder and Bowel Problems in Older People

Ann Capewell is a Consultant Physician and previously Clinical Director of Care of the Elderly at St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust. She is Chair of the BGS Bladder and Bowel Health Special Interest Group.

Bladder and bowel problems are common but neglected areas of geriatric medicine practice. We are holding a meeting that will focus on providing comprehensive up to date information and practical tips from leading experts in the field.

The BGS Special Interest Group for Bladder and Bowel Health is holding a meeting on the 11th October 2013. This year we are focussing on the links between brain and the bladder and bowel. Topics also include bladder re-training and practical management in frail older people, organising an integrated continence service and with focused sessions on constipation, diarrhoea, bladder cancer.

This is our second meeting but with a completely different programme. The last one was rated highly so the omens are good!

Everyone with an interest in older people or a role in looking after them is welcome to attend. Please click this link for further details and an application form.