Quality Innovation Productivity and Performance (QIPP) key objectives in all aspects of health care are the driver of change in the forthcoming year. Unfortunately continence must compete with all specialist providers surrounded by a back drop of 20% savings in an already stretched economy.
The key and fundamental building block to the survival of this service is education, recruitment and retention of staff.ARC Heathcare key aims are to provide knowledge from National and International speakers in educational sessions, conferences and discussion seminars at local levels for all healthcare providers.
Arc healthcare is facilitating a conference day for healthcare workers in early 2010 .This day will not only provide expert knowledge but offer the chance for delegates to network with speakers and companies affiliated to this speciality.
In 2009 work carried out by various organisations, (RCN, ACA, NT) discovered that a high % of pre and post registration courses do not include continence on the curriculum. A Nusing Times survey identified 52% said their training was insufficient to carry out a continence baseline assessment. 54% of post registration students had not received any training.
How do we expect skills and competencies to be achieved if students are not even taught the basics?
If you do not eat or drink correctly you will not “pee or poo” correctly.
The simple fact is there are babies that are constipated, youngsters overweight or with eating disorders, adults with associated illnesses (diabetes, heart disease, bowel cancers and strokes.) and the fundamental knowledge to prevent a lot of conditions occurring is not being taught.
The population is living longer and those with long-term conditions are surviving longer. There has been an increase in the demand for nursing home and residential home care mainly due to the problems faced by the carers of bladder and bowel incontinence.
The length of time nursing staff and carers spend on these problems is higher than time spent dealing with acute care.
Infection, a key problem for health providers especially as a large amount of people suffering with urine tract infections end up in acute hospital beds. Inappropriate catheterisation is taking place in hospitals to “save staff time”; however this is a dangerous route to patients and risks to others from cross infection,
Patients have a high risk of developing incontinence associated dermatitis (IAD) in hospital if they suffer from urine and /or faecal leakage .Pressure ulcers can develop in to very serious life threatening infections such as sepsis and gangrene. In 2009, S. Foxley from Kings College Hospital, (NHS Foundation Trust London) identified there could be a potential savings of £1million a year in one Trust by correctly treating IAD.
Trusts and health care providers are concentrating on many of the big issues and not focusing on the fundamental educations of their workers .The knowledge of all levels of staff is essential in any environment in maintaining good effective bladder and bowel function .The lack of this basic education the carers will never appreciate when normal function starts to deteriorate or change and thus be able to correctly assess the problems.
Key Facts/Highlights:
- 52% nurses cannot surveyed said they cannot do a baseline assessment.
- 64% nurses said they had not received any education for caring for those with problems
- 54% had no post registration training.
- Cochrane review suggested that there is little evidence to support the use of anticholergic drugs to treat urinary symptoms in patients with Multiple sclerosis. (MS)
- 85% of PCTs stated an increase in patient in the last 5 years requiring products to manage the problem
- Average budget is 0.50pence per day per patient. (Some pads cost 0.35p each)
- Average Trust budget £ 1 million on pads alone per year.
- 70/80% cure or improvement rate in suitable cases in primary care. (1995 Royal College of Physicians)
- 7/12% of population are incontinent.
- I in 6 of over 40 year olds are wet “several times a month” (Perry et al 2000).
