What is Incontinence?
Incontinence is an involuntary loss of urine and/or bowel motion. The amount can vary from slight to copious.  Incontinence is not a disease, but is a symptom of an underlying disorder.

The Continence Service is a community based service, providing discreet professional assessment and management of urinary and faecal incontinence.

Who may access this Service?
General Practitioners, Health Professionals, Hospital Staff and self referrals are accepted.  We encourage patients to be referred via their General Practitioner.

What does the Service provide?
Free confidential continence advice.  Assessment either in a clinic or a home environment.  Management programmes, such as bladder retaining, pelvic floor exercises.  Direct access to urologists, gynaecologists, physiotherapists, dietitians. Supplementary products supplied if criteria are met.

Provision of supplies
Supplementary incontinent pads may be supplied on completion of a comprehensive assessment and management programme, based on the degree of incontinence.

Who is eligible for supplementary continence supplies?
Children over the age of 4 years who have an incontinence problem that is inconsistent with normal development, represented by a urinary incontinence problem, i.e. 50mls per episode more than 4 times per day, and/or a problem with bowel control.  Those 10 years of age and over who have a urinary incontinence problem of over 100mls more than 4 times per day, and/or a problem with bowel control.

Referral and entry to Service
If the General Practitioner is referring it is desirable to have had:

• A multistix and/or MSU
• Medical history including prior investigation and/or surgical interventions and the duration of the problem

Exclusion to the Service
This service will not duplicate services already contracted for by the Ministry of Health.  Exclusions include:

• Patients requiring specific service for continence who are eligible for such services funded by ACC.
• Patients who have a functional loss that is being actively managed by a specialist Assessment, Treatment and Rehabilitation Team on an inpatient basis.  Assessment to provide services can be requested on discharge from the ward.
• Patients with a clinical situation/medical condition who are being managed by a specialised mental health team as a result of an acute mental health or psychiatric problem.
• Patients in a long-stay hospital or rest home may be referred for assessment and specialist advice but are not eligible for supplementary products.

• Continence Flow Chart (PDF, 15.6 KB)