Continence Service

Attends - new product training videos:

Attends Soft and Attends Contours:

The Attends Soft range offers anatomically shaped pads in absorbency levels 0 - 7 for light to heavy urinary incontinence, while the Contours range provides levels 4 - 10 formoderate to heavy urinary and/or faecal incontinence.

Attends Slip Regular

The Attends Slip Regular range of anatomically shaped pads is available in absorbency levels 8, 9 and 10, and is specially designed to manage heavy urinary and/or faecal incontinence.

Attends Slip Active

The Slip Active range of anatomically shaped pads is available in absorbency levels 8, 9 and 10, and is specially designed to manage heavy urinary and/or faecal incontinence.

Attends product demonstration

Discover more about the core technology within our complete range of continence products and learn how this technology helps to keep an individual's skin clean and dry.

To refer a resident to our Continence Service, please complete this form:

Care home continence patient referral form

This is electronic referral form and is the sole referral pathway for our service for all care homes in Northamptonshire.

Some guidelines:

• Please read the instructions
• Please be prepared before completing the form
• Make sure you have baseline charts completed and saved (keep blank copies within easy access)
• Baseline charts need to be accurate
• We suggest only one or two trained / competent staff complete referrals for your care home

It's important that we understand whether is this a new incontinence patient or a re-assessment for patients already recieving products.

A referral can be made directly by the patient, family or carers by contacting the Single Point of Access on 0300 777 0002 referrals are also accepted via email on northamptonshire.spoa@nhft.nhs.uk.

All patients will need to complete a screening questionnaire to allow the referral to be actioned appropriately.

If this is a reassessment, you can call for advice and we will need to know what the problem is with the current products. Is it an issue with absorbency, size or shape?

Our preference is to speak to someone from your care team.

• Half day training sessions are available throughout the year, please contact the team for dates and booking advice on 0300 0271360
• Most care homes are on a 12 week delivery cycle
• Fixation pants are delivered in a pack of 15 pairs every 48 weeks
• Please note there is no adhoc delivery process now, except in very exceptional circumstances (for example, End of Life Care or Trial Without Catheter (TWOC))
• When admitting a new resident:
  • Ensure you have thoroughly assessed their continence needs before admission
  • Are they having deliveries at home? If so, ask the family not to discharge them from Home Delivery Service (HDS) until you have submitted their assessment to us and are getting the first delivery
  • Are they coming from another care home? If so, make sure any products that they have are transferred with them, the products belong to the patient, not the care home
• When submitting referrals be mindful of when your delivery is due, try not to submit referrals close to your next delivery date, as it may not be processed in time and you may need to wait another 12 weeks
• Please note it is the care home's responsibility to ensure any residents' continence needs are met until NHS products are supplied. We are not an emergency service

Useful resource

Management of a urethral catheter (catheter care information) - The British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS)

Attends - new product training videos:

Attends Soft and Attends Contours:

The Attends Soft range offers anatomically shaped pads in absorbency levels 0 - 7 for light to heavy urinary incontinence, while the Contours range provides levels 4 - 10 formoderate to heavy urinary and/or faecal incontinence.

Attends Slip Regular

The Attends Slip Regular range of anatomically shaped pads is available in absorbency levels 8, 9 and 10, and is specially designed to manage heavy urinary and/or faecal incontinence.

Attends Slip Active

The Slip Active range of anatomically shaped pads is available in absorbency levels 8, 9 and 10, and is specially designed to manage heavy urinary and/or faecal incontinence.

Attends product demonstration

Discover more about the core technology within our complete range of continence products and learn how this technology helps to keep an individual's skin clean and dry.

Throughout your assessment you will be asked a number of questions. Not all of these questions may seem relevant to your issues, but they help the nurse build a better picture of your concerns and current situation. These questions will include information about your social circumstances and how often you are affected by your continence. This will also help the nurse identify if you are displaying any symptoms which may need investigating by another professional (for example your GP or a urologist). Your nurse will always discuss these referrals with you first. Following your initial assessment, you may need to come and see one of our nurses in our face-to-face clinics for a more detailed assessment, including a check of your pelvic floor. We offer a number of clinics around the county and your nurse will discuss with you which is the most appropriate clinic for you.

Your initial assessment
Your initial continence assessment will be conducted over the telephone by one of our specialist nurses. Please note, this assessment can take 45 to 60 minutes to complete and you will need to be somewhere private in order for our nurse to complete this. If you need someone else to complete the assessment on your behalf they will need to be with you for this.

Can't have the assessment over the phone?
If you struggle to hear over the phone and need your initial assessment to be face to face, please call the office for this to be arranged.

What happens while you wait for your assessment?

• Continence products - You will be expected to purchase your own continence products while you wait for your initial assessment. A range of products are available to buy from supermarkets, pharmacies and online.
• Will I receive products on the NHS? Just because you have a continence assessment completed does not necessarily mean you will be provided with products on the NHS. Our products are provided in line with national guidance and based on individual need. You will be supplied with any products which are clinically suitable for you and this will be explained to you further by your nurse throughout your assessment and any follow-up appointments.

Why baseline?
You will have been sent baseline charts for you to complete before your assessment. Please try to complete these to the best of your ability as they will help your nurse understand your issues in more detail.

Why do I need an assessment?

Continence issues are usually curable once the underlying cause has been found. Contrary to popular opinion, incontinence is not a side-effect of getting old and can affect people of all ages. An assessment can help improve your symptoms.

What treatment can I expect?

Your nurse will work with you to create a plan for your care. Our main focus is to consider treatment options which should help improve or cure your continence issues. This may be through pelvic floor exercises, bladder retraining or considering different food and fluid intakes. Patterns for what may be causing your continence issues can sometimes be identified from your baseline charts, which is why it is so important you complete these and send them back to us.

We want to make sure you have the right information about continence products before your assessment with our service.

Before your assessment

• You will need to buy your own continence products until the date of your initial assessment. This applies to everyone, with no exceptions.
• You can use the Bladder and Bowel CONfidence app to help you choose suitable products while self purchasing.

During and after your assessment

• Continence products are provided only when there is a clinical need. Having an assessment does not automatically mean products will be supplied.
• Products are issued based on clinical suitability, not personal preference or style.

What the service can provide

• A maximum of 4 products per 24 hours can be supplied. This includes 1 product for night time use.
• NHFT supplies products from the Attends range. If you receive products from us, they will be from this brand, even if you currently use something different.
• Your product provision may change if your clinical needs change.
• All decisions follow NHS guidelines for continence product provision.

You can find some useful resources and guidance below:

• Treatment options for overactive bladder (OAB) - British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited (BAUS)
• Bladder training - British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited (BAUS)
• Bowel habits and constipation - Bladder and Bowel Community
• Diverticulosis, diverticular disease, diverticulitis health advice - Patient/ Navigate Health Ltd
• Drinking advice for a healthy bladder - Bladder and Bowel Community
• Why is fibre important? - British Dietetic Association (BDA)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and diet - British Dietetic Association (BDA)
• A guide to double voiding and bladder-emptying techniques - Medical News Today
• Lichen Sclerosus in females - British Association of Dermatology (BAD)
• Nocturnal polyuria (passing too much urine at night) -  British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited (BAUS)
• Pelvic floor exercises in men - British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited (BAUS)
• NHFT Pelvic Floor Exercises - an Introduction [pdf] 395KB
• NHFT Pelvic Floor Breathing Exercises Leaflet [pdf] 268KB
• NHFT What to expect on your visit for a pelvic floor check [pdf] 187KB
• Urogenital problems, information for women - Women's Health Concern

Useful app

Continence product selector- Continence product advice for users, carers and healthcare professionals