The Specialist Adult Bladder and Bowel Service is made up of Nurses and Assistant Practitioners that specialise in complex bladder and bowel conditions. These professionals are highly trained to deliver the highest standards of care whilst completing evidence based, holistic clinical assessments of a patient’s symptoms.
The Adult Bladder and Bowel Team is made up of Nurses and Assistant Practitioners that specialise in complex bladder and bowel conditions. These professionals are highly trained to deliver the highest standards of care whilst completing evidence based, holistic clinical assessments of your symptoms.
The team also have an administration team to answer any of your concerns and queries whilst booking your appointments.
Clinic appointment
You will be given an appointment to attend a clinic in your local area. We advise that you attend 5 to 10 minutes before your appointment time and ask that you try not to empty your bladder before your appointment as we will ask you to do so for the nurse to obtain a urine sample. The assessment will last for 1 hour and within that time the nurse will ask you questions regarding your symptoms related to your bladder and bowel.
Home appointment
A visit to your home may be offered if you are housebound or, alternatively, a telephone assessment may be carried out.
If the nurse attends your home to complete the assessment, which will take 1 hour, the nurse will ask you the same questions as they would if you had attended a clinic regarding symptoms related to your bladder and bowel.
We ask that all pets are secured in the property whilst the nurse completes the visit. Your nurse will visit between the hours of 10am to 4pm. The patient’s family can be present if they have consent from the patient to attend the visit or clinic appointment.
Examination and bladder scan
The nurse may ask for consent to perform an examination during the assessment, if required. You will also be offered a pre and post ultrasound bladder scan.
The ultrasound bladder scan is a test to determine the amount of urine present in the bladder. The test is sometimes done to look for urine the bladder can store and/or whether the bladder is emptying completely when passing urine.
The nurse will inform you of the procedure and reason for the scan and ask for your consent. You can have a chaperone present throughout if you wish. You will be asked to lie down on an examination couch with your lower abdomen (stomach) exposed, however, you will not be asked to remove any clothes. A gel will be applied, and the scanner may gently be moved around your lower abdomen (Stomach) in order to achieve a good picture of your bladder. This should only take a few minutes.
Following the scan, the nurse will talk you through your results and discuss future treatment options.
There is no evidence of any risks with this procedure, however, we would avoid this scan in the first three months of pregnancy. Please inform the nurse if you think you may be pregnant.
Follow-up appointments
You will be given an 8-week follow-up appointment if clinically indicated. This is when the nurse will evaluate the plan of care given to you from your first assessment and your current symptoms.
In order to access this service, you must have a referral from a health care professional, this can include your GP, hospital consultant teams, residential and nursing care homes, and social services. We do not currently accept self-referrals into the service.
Telephone: 01270 826360
Email: CCICPcommunitybladderbowelservice@mcht.nhs.uk
Address: Specialist Bladder and Bowel Community Nursing Service
Infinity House
Mallard Way
Crewe
CW1 6ZQ
You can find the full playlist of videos around Pelvic Health by clicking here.
Individual videos:
Diabetes and increased passing of urine overnight: click here
Faecal leakage: click here
Fluid and diet that can affect your bladder and bowel: click here
How Diabetes effects bladder and bowel function: click here
How the bladder works: click here
Training your bladder: click here
Normal bladder function: click here
Patient journey and outcomes: click here
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: click here
How to activate your pelvic floor & check you're doing it correctly: click here
Pelvic organ prolapse: click here
The anatomy of the pelvic floor muscles: click here
Introduction to Urogynaecology: click here
Pelvic floor exercises: click here
You may be prescribed containment products (pads) by the service if clinically needed. Please be aware that these medical devices will not always match the brand, absorbency, quantity per day and design that the you have previously been self-purchasing.
Following a clinical assessment, you may require a delivery of continence products and will be registered with NHS supply chain. You will be given an initial order of 16 weeks supply of products (4 to 8 weeks for care home provision).
For subsequent deliveries, patients will need to contact our ring back number to place their next order: 0800 030 4466
Upon delivery, the products will be accompanied by an invoice which will inform you of your next scheduled delivery date. Patient should check their delivery is correct within 24 hours as following this time supply can not be replaced or sent back without a delivery charge.
Patients/carers who request a change to their products will need to request a product review assessment from our clinical staff.
