Health ministers urge hospitals to distribute continence products to patients based on clinical need rather than arbitrary limits and cost-cutting measures.

 The fight to end the rationing of continence pads in hospitals has received a boost from the government.

Some NHS Trusts distribute hygiene products based on “arbitrary limits”, leaving family members or patients with no choice but to pay for extra pads, campaigners say.

Now, the department of health and social care has reminded hospitals to meet the clinical needs of those suffering with incontinence and prioritise safe and “effective” care.  

It comes after a written parliamentary question from Mohammed Yasin, the Labour MP for Bedford, who asked what steps ministers were taking to ensure NHS trusts comply with national guidance when determining which products are most appropriate for patients.

Replying, Preet Kaur Gill, then parliamentary under-secretary of state, said the department expects “services” to follow guidelines and standards set out by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

NICE advises that products should be distributed based on specific needs, rather than policies or budgets.

Yasin, a member of the adult social care cross-party group, described the response as a “welcome step”, and called for the principle to be applied consistently across every NHS trust.

Access to the correct products should never be determined by “arbitrary limits or local cost-cutting measures,” he added.

The intervention follows the launch of the End the Pad Gap campaign, which has warned that people living with incontinence are being left without enough products to remain dry, healthy, and independent.

Urinary tract infections

The campaign is backed by organisations including the RCN, Prostate Cancer UK, Bladder & Bowel UK, Dementia Carers Count, and Essity, which supplies pads to the NHS.

Earlier this year, freedom of information data provided by 110 NHS trusts showed that more than half (53%) have a cap on the availability of products.

Of these trusts, 34% have a limit of three products a day, while the remainder have a cap of four products, the requests, submitted by Essity, reveal.

Around 14 million people in the UK experience incontinence. In March, as reported by Healthcare Today, charities and MPs urged Louise Casey, Baroness Casey of Blackstock, to tackle the issue in her independent review of social care.

They warned that those suffering with incontinence are being failed by a system driven by budgets.

Writing for this publication, Tracey Whitehouse, service manager and adult specialist nurse at Bladder & Bowel UK, warned that when poorly managed, incontinence can lead to urinary tract infections, skin damage, avoidable hospital admissions and deep emotional distress.

There is also a social element, she said, with people declining invitations and planning their days around rationed products.