Er det også sådan i England?

Interview med Clinical Manager Debbie Gordon fra den engelske Bladder & Bowel Foundation

Af Lise M. Andersen
November 2013
(interviewet kan læses på engelsk forneden)

Spørgsmål:
I Danmark holder tabuet mange inkontinente fra at søge hjælp i op til 5 år. Oplever i den samme niveau af tabu hos Bladder & Bowel Foundation i England?

Svar:
Generelt er tingene ved at blive lidt bedre i UK. Der er stadig tabu men TV programmer såsom ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ (De flove kroppe) og andet omtale i mediet er med til at inspirerere inkontinente til at gå til læge.

Spørgsmål:
At nedbryde tabuet syntes at være et problem der er svært for både patienter og professionelle. Hvordan takler Bladder & Bowel Foundation dette i England?

Svar:
Vi arbejder med jævne mellemrum med professionelle behandlere samt offentligheden for at nedbryde barriererne. Vores anonyme hotline som tilbyder råd og vejledning er bemandet af erfarne kontinenssygeplejersker og fysioterapeuter som vejleder både patienter og professionelle. Vi arbejder også med lovgiverne; NICE og NHS England således at patientens stemme er repræsenteret til enhver tid.

Spørgsmål:
I Danmark har vi en flaskehals problem i behandling af patienterne; den tid en GP (praktiserende læge) skal bruge per patient for at opfylde Minimal Care-kravene overskrider den tid de faktisk har per patient. En af resultaterne er at inkontinens bliver nedprioriteret. Oplever I lignende problem i UK? I tilfælde af at I gør, er der noget I føler kunne gøres for at løse problemet?

Svar:
Desværre er situationen nøjagtig det samme her. Ofte er det sådan at en patient endelig får taget sig sammen til at nævne problemet lige i slutningen af en konsultation, og hvis der ikke tages hånd om problemet med det samme bliver det ikke nævnt igen. Vores hotline hjælpere opfordrer patienterne til at tage kontakt til den lokale inkontinens service/klinik som ofte accepterer folk uden henvisning, eller opfordrer de patienter til at bestille en konsultation hos egen læge for at snakke om inkontinensen.

Spørgsmål:
Vi er meget interesseret i at høre lidt om jeres ‘Love Your Gusset’ kampagne. Vil du fortælle lidt om den?

Svar:
Bladder & Bowel Foundation har gennem historien koncentreret sig udelukkende om overaktiv blære – mest pga sponsoraftaler og støtte til specifikke kampagner. Vi var interesseret i at fokusere på stressinkontinens med speciel fokus på teenagere og unge voksne. Vi oplevede at en del af dem der ringede til hotlinen var unge mødre med stressinkontinens. Vi blev enige om at afprøve en kampagne med ERIC (den engelske NGO som støtter børn med inkontinens). Vi kunne se at vores foreninger havde en fællesområde – nogle teenagere ville relatere til en hjemmeside med fokus på de voksne, mens andre ville måske føle sig mere hjemme i ERIC’s hjemmeside.

Det var vores første Facebook kampagne så vi er også ved at lære af de erfaringer vi gør os. Vi kommer til at evaluere det hele i løbet af de næste par måneder, men det information vi har fået indtil videre ser rigtig lovende ud.

Spørgsmål:
Har i nogle andre aktiviteter du gerne vil dele med os? Er der nogle tværlandeaktiviteter?

Svar:
Vi ville være meget interesseret i at overveje en awareness program i samarbejde med Kontinensforeningen. Vores fokus i 2014 bliver Bowel campaign (kampagne med fokus på tarmen), og vi arbejder også videre på at få mere fokus på stressinkontinens.

Om Debbie Gordon

Clinical Manager Debbie Gordon startede hos Bladder and Bowel Foundation (BBF) i 2012 som chef for BBF’s klinik-relaterede aktiviteter. Hendes ansvarsområde omfatter bl.a. ansættelser til og styring af foreningens telefonisk hotline, hvor kvalitet og de højeste standarder sikres. Debbie Gordon er også med til at sikre at BBF’s kvalitetsstyring opfylder de nødvendige krav fra de anerkendte professionelle og lovgivende instanser i UK.

Besøg Bladder and Bowel Foundation her

Læs mere om ‘Love Your Gusset’-kampagnen her

Besøg ‘Love Your Gusset’ på Facebook

Besøg Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence (ERIC) hjemmesiden her

Forneden kan du læse interviewet på engelsk.

Is it the same in England?
Interview with Clinical Manager Debbie Gordon, Bowel and Bladder Foundation, England.

Question:
In Denmark, the taboo factor keeps many incontinence sufferers from seeking medical help for up to 5 years. Does the Bladder and Bowel Foundation experience this level of taboo?

Answer:
Generally things are improving in the UK. There is still a taboo around the subject of incontinence but TV programmes like ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ and other media coverage are helping to encourage sufferers to seek medical help.

Question:
Cutting through the taboo seems to be problematic for patients as well as some professionals. How does the Bladder and Bowel Foundation tackle these issues in the UK?

Answer:
We regularly work with professionals and the public in an attempt to break down barriers. Our confidential helpline offering clinical advice, is staffed by Senior Continence Nurses and Physiotherapists and offers advice to both individuals and professionals . We also work closely with our policy makers; NICE and NHS England so that the patient’s voice is considered in all decisions.

Question:
In Denmark, there is a ‘bottleneck’ problem in getting treatment for patients: the time a GP needs to spend on Minimal Care and diagnosis of incontinence exceeds their allotted time per patient. As a result, incontinence can easily be neglected. Does the UK struggle with this issue or something similar as well? If so, are there any steps you feel can be taken to address this issue?

Answer:
Sadly this is the same in the UK. Often a patient may pluck up the courage to mention their incontinence at the end of their consultation and if it isn’t addressed very few ask again. Our helpline advises callers to speak to their local Continence service who often accept direct referral or encourage callers to make an appointment to speak to their GP specifically about their continence needs.

Question:
We are very interested in hearing a bit about the Love Your Gusset Campaign. Would you tell us a bit about it?

Answer:
Historically the Bladder and Bowel Foundation has focused on overactive bladder, mainly due to specific funding streams and campaign agreements. We were keen to highlight stress urinary incontinence, with a focus on the teenager / young adult. We recognised that a number of our callers were teenage mums with stress incontinence. We agreed to trail a campaign with ERIC, the UK charity supporting children with continence needs. We recognised that there was an overlap in our organisations – some teenagers would relate to an adult site like B&BF whereas some of our young adults may find the ERIC site more user friendly. It was our first Facebook campaign and so a bit of a learning curve – we will review it in a couple of months but initial data is encouraging.

Question:
Do you have any other activities you would like to highlight? Any across the border activities?

Answer:
We would be delighted to consider a joint awareness programme with The Danish Continence Society. Our focus for 2014 is our Bowel Campaign and also progressing our work on Stress Incontinence Awareness.

Debbie Gordon – Clinical Manager

Debbie joined the Bladder and Bowel Foundation in June 2012 as a Clinical Manager. Debbie provides leadership on all issues relating to clinical excellence and manages all clinically based activities and assets of BBF, including the Helpline and its personnel ensuring that high quality and comprehensive best practice clinical standards are met. This includes the introduction of BBF quality assurance systems meeting the requirements of recognised professional and regulatory bodies.

Visit Bladder and Bowel Foundation here

Read more about the ‘Love Your Gusset’ campaign here

Visit the ‘Love Your Gusset’ page on Facebook

Visit the Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence (ERIC) homepage here