Continence

The continence teams provide open referral systems. They run community bladder and bowel clinics and also provides support, advice and assessment of individual needs, with service users offered the choice of home, hospital or clinic as venue for their appointment.

Conditions treated include stress urinary incontinence (SUI); overactive bladder (OAB); mixed urinary symptoms; urinary retention; neuropathic bladder; enuresis; bowel dysnfuction, including incontinence and constipation.

In the east and north locality of Birmingham they also run a planned triage service on a rolling programme across the area inviting all women aged between 40 and 70 to attend an appointment if they have any concerns about bladder or bowel incontinence. 

This proactive approach in a confidential sensitive subject is reducing the numbers of referrals made to secondary care for gynae / urology at later stages where earlier intervention is producing a reduction in symptoms in up to 80 per cent of referrals received.

Services provided at clinics:

• holistic assessment for diagnosis, treatment and evaluation

• bladder scanning

• urowflometry

• conservative treatments and interventions

• physiotherapy and biofeedback

• prescribed medication