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Bladder and Bowel Service

Overview

The Bladder and Bowel Service provides care for adults with urinary and faecal continence problems in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area.

The service is made up of continence specialist nurses, continence assistant practitioners, continence staff nurses and continence healthcare assistants.

We liaise with and support other professionals such as: GPs, district nurses, health visitors, learning disability nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, carers and the secondary care urology and gynaecology teams. A Children's Continence Service is delivered to children with an additional need. In the north of the area, we deliver the Children’s Continence Service, and have clinics at Northgate Hospital, Shrublands Heath Centre and the John Grant School in Great Yarmouth. In the south of the area, we deliver clinics for children at Beccles Hospital, the Kirkley Mill Health Centre and the Warren School, Lowestoft.

Patients will receive a comprehensive continence assessment of their problems and needs and an individualised programme of care will be discussed and agreed. A treatment or management plan will be made in agreement with the patient. This may include: bladder/toileting advice and training, supervised pelvic floor exercises, fluid and dietary advice, medication review and advice, and other specialist interventions such as intermittent catheterisation.

Products for the containment of incontinence can only be provided following an assessment using the approved tool and documentation. Interventions to promote continence will be tried first where appropriate.

The service holds Bladder and Bowel (B&B) clinics at:

  • Beccles Hospital
  • Shrublands Health Centre, Gorleston
  • Kirkley Mill Health Centre, Lowestoft
  • Northgate Hospital, Great Yarmouth

You will have the choice of which clinic you would prefer to attend.

Home visits are provided by this service if a patient is housebound. Interpretation and translation services can be arranged by staff for service users where appropriate.


Referrals

The Bladder and Bowel Service has an open referral policy. Patients can be referred by a health professional, carer or by the patient themselves. Children under the age of 19 must be referred by a GP or paediatrician.


Contact

Service times: 8am-5pm, Monday to Friday

Telephone: 01493 809977