Bladder and Bowel Service

The team consists of the following staff:

• Hazel Robertson - Matron
• Shunara Quinn, Children’s Specialist Nurse
• Alexa Robe, Adult Specialist Nurse
• Rebecca Robson, Adult Specialist Nurse
• Lynn Smurthwaite, Continence Specialist Nurse
• Jessica Hounden, Adult Specialist Nurse
• Kelly Adams, Administration & Clerical
• Jackie Hewson, Administration & Clerical
• Bernie Melia, Administration & Clerical

The Bladder and Bowel Service for South Tyneside and Sunderland Community Services is based at:

Clarendon

Windmill Way

Hebburn

NE31 1AT

Please contact the service on: 0191 283 4754

Email: stsft.bladderandbowelservice@nhs.net

You need to complete a referral form for the service. 

Patients can also self-refer into the service by calling 0191 283 4754. They can also be referred by any healthcare professional and via Choose and Book.

• Children’s Bladder and Bowel pathways/documents
  • Childrens Level 2 referral form 
  • Paediatric Assessment Tool for issuing of products
• Standard operating procedures
  • SOP Female Acute Urinary Retention 
  • SOP Male Urinary Retention 
• Trial removal of catheter
  • Trial without catheter (TWOC) form 
• Bowel and fluid charts
  • Adult bladder fluid chart
  • Adult bowel record chart
• Patient information leaflets
  • Advice - looking after your pelvic floor
• Self-retaining catheters
• Care of indwelling catheters
• Education and Training - “ we deliver training on Adult promotion of continence, aspects of male, female, suprapubic and intermittent catheterisation in adults, adult digital rectal examination and bowel course for registered nurses and children’s continence promotion as well as the management of incontinence”.
  • Bladder and Bowel Service Training Dates 2022
  • Children's Traning Dates 2022

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World Continence Week is a health campaign that is ran every year to raise awareness of incontinence related issues. This year Continence Week is taking place between 20th-26th June and here are some top tips for keeping your bladder and bowel healthy.

Healthy Bladder and Bowel for Adults

Healthy Bladder and Bowel for Children

How do we know what products we should be ordering?

A formulary has been produced to outline the correct products which are available. This will be widely shared in a variety of ways:

• Accessible via Bladder and Bowel Service intranet page
• Individual formulary cards which will be provided for all locations across Trust
• Posters to advertise the change and process

How do we access stock?

All patients should have a Continence Assessment carried out as part of the nursing assessment process to ensure the patient receives the correct care.

Acute Trust

Those working on South Tyneside and Sunderland acute sites, there is little change.

Your stock controller linked to materials management will ensure you receive adequate stock of all relevant items. They will slowly reduce current stock levels and a ‘stop’ will be placed on individual accounts to prevent orders of the old products to facilitate transfer to the new arrangement.

Community staff

All staff working in the community can order from the agreed formulary following their individual continence assessment.

Care homes

Staff from care homes will complete their continence assessment which will be ‘approved’ by the Bladder and Bowel Service and if deemed appropriate will be ordered via NHS Supply Chain.

What training will be provided?

Training will be provided using a number of videos which will be accessible on ESR or via the Bladder and Bowel Service page. All areas will be expected to identify a registered nurse and health care assistant to undertake the training and the expectation is that key messages are cascaded within each team. Communications will be distributed via the staff bulletin in due course.

Where can we access support if we have any queries?

Any queries, please contact Bladder and Bowel Service on 0191 2834754 or, email stsft.bladderandbowelteam@nhs.net and the administrator for the team will pick up the email and distribute to the appropriate member to respond.

Other sources of reference are the Tissue Viability and Bladder and Bowel Service intranet pages:

Tissue Viability Service

Bladder & Bowel Service 

Common queries and visual flowcharts to support staff

Care Home Patients Flowchart 

Community Patients Flowchart

Contacts for Common Queries

Hip and waist measurements must be obtained before any products are ordered. Please refer to the 'Training Links' tab below for further guidance.

• PRF (Patient Referral Form)

Online quick reference guide 

Bladder and bowel assessment tool (Adult)

Bowel assessment tool 

• Product Pathway
• HD Product Guide
• Acute Product Guide
• TENA Net Brochure

• E48 TENA Comfort Get The Best
• E49 TENA Slip Get The Best 

Training flowchart

​​​​​​Order a sample for patient products following comprehensive continence assessment

• Product Samples Form

From April 2022, the product provider and delivery company who deliver continence products has changed. This does not change the process of completing the same continence assessment for patients. These should still be sent to the Bladder and Bowel Service which will be dealt with by the specialist nurses at Clarendon, Hebburn.

Thank you for your continued support. Further information is available here.

Important Notice

Change of Continence Products Supplier and Home Delivery Service

Please note that from 21st April 2022 continence products will be provided by Tena / Essity, and these will be distributed to patients by NHS Home Delivery Service.

Completing Continence Assessments which Results in Requiring Products

From 12 April 2022 staff completing a continence assessment which requires provision of products must follow the below process:

· Complete a level 1 assessment, Bladder charts, Bowel charts and paediatric scouring tool.

· complete a paper PRF form which can be found under the 'PRF' tab.

· scan and email the completed level 1 assessment, bladder chart, bowel chart, paediatric scouring tool and PRF form from your secure NHS email address to the Bowel and Bladder Team stsft.bladderandbowelteam@nhs.net

Further information and product training will be available through the bladder and bowel internet page. Your bladder and bowel link nurses will be able to support you with any queries and disseminate further information about the product change.