NEGLECT OF THE UK’S SIX MILLION PEOPLE WITH CONTINENCE ISSUES HIGHLIGHTED AT CONFERENCE

Unacceptably poor treatments, old technology, lack of training and scarce funding for researching solutions all show that society is failing its six million people who have continence issues, stated surgeon Markus Drake in a conference yesterday given on behalf of Help the Aged.

  The briefing follows his two year study into the human bladder, which was funded by the Charity’s biomedical research arm Research into Ageing which took place at The Royal College of Medicine in London .

  The four key issues raised by Mr Drake were:

·                     A good generally applicable treatment for incontinence could be a long way away because too little government, private or voluntary funding is available.  Currently available treatments are unsatisfactory, being either too basic and with side effects or alternatively require extensive and expensive surgery.  Potential new treatments currently being tested still require injections or other invasion and may yet be revealed to have unwanted side effects.

·                     Many people with incontinence are given catheters that are of a design hardly changed since 1937 and are still made of latex that is not top-grade, unlike in devices for other conditions.  These materials particularly attract salts that accumulate and cause blockages, infection or other health hazards.  Incontinence pads are similarly inconvenient, undignified and sometimes hazardous to health.

·                     Mr Drake’s recently concluded study funded by Research into Ageing is leading the way in revealing the bladder to be far more complicated than scientists previously believed.  It operates in a complex manner and with an unexpected level of independence from the brain.  Given this complexity, it is clear that researchers need more support and funding or else things may not improve much for people with continence issues.

·                     Training of doctors should include much more than the current passing references to incontinence, both in medical schools and throughout their career.

Help the Aged is the only UK Charity continuously funding new biomedical research into incontinence, through its Research into Ageing biomedical research arm.  It is currently funding four scientific studies into incontinence at Brunel University, Oxford University, the University of Nottingham and the Bristol Urological Institute (BUI).  Dr Lorna Layward, Research Manager of Research into Ageing, adds:

“The amount of support given to people with continence issues is scandalously small in consideration of the impact the condition has on the health and lives of six million people in the UK.  It is one of the biggest threats to public health in the UK today, yet millions suffer in silence.  Research into Ageing pledges its ongoing support for better understanding and treatment of incontinence and welcomes donations for this important cause.”

Markus Drake is an active surgeon and researcher at the BUI.

Charities in the continence field are joined in our concern about both the quality of treatments and people’s awareness of what is available.  Continence Awareness Week, run annually by the Continence Foundation, takes place on 11-17 September this year and will be focussing on new developments in the management and treatment of bladder and bowel problems.  For more details, contact the Continence Foundation on 020 7404 6875 or aware@continence-foundation.org.uk.

(21/6/06)