Continence

Referral

Any health professional can make a referral on your behalf by using the online forms within Systm One (clinical health record), or you can self-refer by calling 01274 221167.

Waiting list

Once your referral is received, it will be reviewed by a specialist continence nurse, and you will be booked to see the most appropriate health professional for your needs. We are a specialist team who with work with you to improve and manage your bladder and/or bowel symptoms.

Assessment

Following your referral being reviewed, you will be sent a letter regarding your appointment. Please ensure to bring with you a urine sample if stated so on the letter and complete any bladder or bowel diaries that have been included. These assessment tools can allow the nurse to better understand your symptoms and advise the most appropriate course of treatment or management.

After your appointment

After your initial appointment, you will be given a follow up appointment where your treatment and management plan will be reviewed.

You may find these resources helpful:

Eat well – NHS advice on eating a healthy, balanced diet

10 ways to stop leaks – NHS advice on urinary incontinence

Reducing alcohol – NHS advice on cutting down on alcohol if you regularly drink more than 14 units a week

Weight loss plan – NHS advice on making small, simple changes to help you lose weight

Stop Smoking – NHS advice on stopping smoking, its never too late to quit

Drinking for a healthy bladder – advice on what and how much to drink from bladderandbowel.org

Bladder and Bowel Community – supporting millions of people in the UK who are living with conditions that affect their bladder or bowel. Support, information and guidance whether you have a condition yourself or are a relative, friend or carer of someone who does.

TENA Direct | Shop for TENA incontinence products – online retailer for pads

We need to make some changes to our continence pads provision

Bradford District Care Trust is commissioned to provide continence pads for adults in Bradford District and Craven who have had a specialist assessment of their needs. The cost of providing these pads has risen greatly over the last five years, whilst our budget has stayed the same, leading to a deficit.

In the last year 2024/25, the total spend on continence pads provision was approximately £2.1 million against a budget of c£1.3 million, leading to an overspend of more than £720,000.

As there is currently no additional budget available, we proposed some changes to enable us to reduce spending whilst ensuring we continue to support our service users. The proposed changes were:

• extending our delivery cycles,
• stopping the provision of lower absorbency pads, and
• reducing the number of pants and pads provided free of charge.

Thank you for your feedback on the proposed changes

Thank you to everyone who took the time and trouble to share your thoughts on our proposed changes to continence pads provision. Over four hundred people gave their feedback by completing our survey or attending an event.

There were common themes and concerns across the responses we received:

Financial hardship and false economy

Many people on low incomes explained that buying pads privately might be “impossible” and feel “devastating”. You told us that using fewer pads was to you “false economy” as this can lead to skin sores and infections which in turn cost the NHS more in doctor or nurse visits and hospital stays.

Dignity and social isolation

You said continence products are a “lifeline” and you fear a reduction will lead to “soiled clothing” and “embarrassment”, which could mean staying indoors leading to loneliness and depression.

Blanket policies v individual need

Many people strongly disagreed with “blanket rules” or caps on the number of pads. Needs vary greatly, especially for people with Alzeimer’s or double incontinence. You believe care must be based on an individual’s actual health needs.

Logistics and storage

Whilst some people could manage with less frequent deliveries of pads, others in small flats or care homes told us you do not have the physical space to store four months’ worth of bulky products at once.

Your comments

These two comments summed up many people’s thoughts:

“As an older person my bladder issues will get worse rather than better… I cannot afford to pay for pads that medically, I need. I would have nothing left!”

“This change will lead to significant health inequalities… [It] risks infections and greater long-term costs… Equality, dignity, and fair access must be safeguarded across the NHS.”

Next steps

Once again, thankou for your feedback which is has been incorporated into our bid for more investment in continence pads provision and is informing other ways we can help, focused around:

• provision of pads based on personal health needs rather than a specific limit
• ensuring we reduce any waste by enabling patients to return unused sealed packs of pads, and
• offering more information on reusable products and other medical treatments.

Our Continence team now offers you the option to receive your podiatry appointment letters on your smartphone, tablet or computer. To take advantage of this, you will need to register for our new patient portal, Patients Know Best (PKB).

Get full details and register.