It's time to talk continence

Incontinence is a condition that causes involuntary passing of urine and/or faeces (wee and poo). According to NHS England, problems with the bladder affect more than 14 million people (one in five of us) in the UK including approximately 6.5 million who have bowel problems. But not enough are talking about it.

We wanted to hear people's experiences of accessing continence services and living with bladder and bowel issues to better understand how it affects physical and mental health, what provisions there are (and aren't), and what else is needed to make improvements.

Your feedback

In our latest report, we found that it can have a profound impact on health and independence:

• "It all got a lot worse, and I was in chronic pain when sitting."
• "It was horrendous."

Whilst other people wanted an improvement in awareness and provision, making it clear that more needs to be done:

• "We need information about continence services."
• "I was appalled by the only NHS continence pad provision."

Some people told us that care – once they received it – was positive:

• "My quality of life is so much better now with the stoma after all it's only a bit of wee and we all do it. Stomas are life saving and life changing – mine is."

What were the key findings?

• It's a myth that it only happens to old people; it affects people of all ages and genders
• Problems accessing continence products, for example, because there is no information about how to get support
• Continence products (such as pads on the NHS) not being suitable for them, of poor quality and the cost is worrying people (so people are going without)
• Public toilets and facilities are lacking, including continence products and bins being readily available for all genders
• The impact incontinence can have on people's mental health is not being considered
• People are not always being treated with empathy
• Services not considering people's disabilities when providing continence care

What do we recommend changes

Healthcare services can provide good continence care by making simple changes that are proven to work. Based on the feedback we received, services can help by:

1. Making access easy, with clear and discrete signposting and advice available
2. Ensuring the products they provide are high quality and the supply meets an individual’s needs
3. Being empathetic and helping to maintain a person’s dignity

Our report also outlines the local measures that can be taken collectively; GPs, continence services and secondary care (for example, hospital clinics or mental health services), North Yorkshire Council and social care providers.

Let's keep the conversation going

We hope this report is the start of a larger conversation about continence with communities and service providers. It outlines several positive approaches services are taking but also highlights that work is still needed at every level to address the stigma of continence and increase awareness and understanding.

Read our full report