Incontinence management is inadequate, UK audit shows

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7527.1226-a

BMJ 2005;331:1226 (26 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7527.1226-a

News roundup

Incontinence management is inadequate, UK audit shows

London Susan Mayor

The first national audit of incontinence care for older people in the United Kingdom has found widespread failure to diagnose and manage continence problems in results reported this week.

The audit, funded by the Healthcare Commission and undertaken by the Royal College of Physician�s Clinical Effectiveness and Evaluation Unit, examined the quality of care for 9197 older people (65 years and above) with urinary and faecal incontinence in primary and secondary care and 749 residents in care homes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It compared their continence care to standards set in the National Service Framework for Older People and the Department of Health guidance Good Practice in Continence Services (www.dh.gov.uk).

Results showed that specialist NHS staff had good levels of knowledge about continence, but patients were often not examined thoroughly or given full assessments. Even if these had been done effectively, there was limited effort . . . [Full text of this article]

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