Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people with bladder and bowel control conditions in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

Lancashire and South Cumbria (LSC) Integrated Care Board (ICB) commissions several community bladder and bowel/continence services across Fylde and Lancashire. These services consist of specialist nurses and allied health professionals, who work collaboratively with primary care, secondary care and wider community nursing services to ensure there is comprehensive support and end to end treatment pathways for residents of Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Bladder and bowel services provide a holistic continence assessment, including routine observations, bladder scans and skin integrity checks, as well as reviewing past medical history, medication, mobility, carer support, and diet and fluid. They offer ongoing support and products for any bowel and/or bladder issues that are identified and may refer patients to specialist nurses for further support or district nurses for ongoing care. Self-care advice is always given, and independence is promoted during assessments, such as pelvic floor exercises for stress urinary incontinence, or bladder training and fluid intake advice for overactive bladder.

LSC ICB has a dedicated programme of work supporting the transformation of core community services in line with the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, and bladder and bowel services are considered as part of the community transformation programme ensuring all residents of Lancashire and South Cumbria have access to evidence-based bladder and bowel care when and where they need it.

The community services are aligned to acute National Health Service trusts. Where there needs to be surgical management or specialist input, this is generally presented through a routine referral to urology, gynaecology or gastroenterology services. All localities across LSC ICB provide these services. LSC ICB is continually reviewing and working towards transformation of clinical pathways and services to manage demand as closer to home as possible via specialist multi-disciplinary teams within the community.

Across LSC ICB, there is also a urogynaecology programme that is developing the front-end of the gynaecology pathway for access to specialist women’s health physiotherapists rather than referrals direct to secondary care gynaecology services. This aims to reduce pressure in gynaecology services and to provide specialist assessments and treatments with reduced waiting times for patients.