Lying flat on the floor recovering from yesterday ( yes I must finish that blog too) I dial in to EICC Programme Board meeting. This unstoppable Board has managed to pull together clinicians and NHS experts to produce a Commissioning Framework. Permission has been granted to proceed to publication.

Publication is soon. The group I was involved in is a section on Patient Empowerment. My main concern is the use of language. The awareness of people of all ages of what might be possible to make better, bladder and bowel. No one can offer a cure, no one is saying it can be solved. The idea is to improve services. To enable patients to find the help they need in the most efficient manner. That is economic for the CCG and indeed economic in terms of opportunity cost, days lost at work, holidays, quality of life etc for the patient. Before I started on all this I honestly thought the word ‘continence’ meant ‘incontinent’ old ladies with leaking bladders. Some 6 years later I have learnt the word continent is rubbish. That people young old middle aged and adolescent too, may have bladder and or bowel issues. Those issues are not often talked about. Those issues can be made more bearable by direction to better self treatment, access to ‘continence’ products via the NHS and better public awareness. We are talking about long term conditions affecting many people.

Melanie Reid in her Times column brought a heightened awareness of the catheter nonsense, these Foley, invented in wwar 2, causing uti antibiotic over use, hospital admissions etc. By using better catheters, where possible single use disposable catheters, patients can manage their dysfunction, reduce infection and therefore lower antibiiotic use or admission to hospital. Simples Eh? But theres loads more complications than that…

Until 6 years ago I thought a catheter was a horrid latex pipe from bladder to bag. BUT no, it does not have to be. There are products out there that mean people can use a small ‘mascara’ size and looking device to empty bladder whilst out. How greeat is that. What amazingly clever scientists and engineers are out there finding better ways to improve dignity, self esteem, confidence and ….they are available its just so hard to find out where how and when. But a big plea from me could the experts find better indwelling catheters too? They are just so unsophisticated…its ridiculous. You should have seen me blithering around in the middle of the night last week. Bed soaking wet, me soaking wet, trying not to wake D who I suspect was soaking wet but did not realise! Then realising stupid catheter connection was wrong. Could I work out how to correct that? change the sheets, change me, avoid D…? Rang District Nurses for help they had a big panic on couldnt get here for two hours. I said not to worry I would set my alarm and just use a leg bag til morning. so that is what I did. blllleuuurrgh.

But I digress, I am so impressed at the ‘process’, at the way in which the EICCChair has managed to open doors and gather skills and expertise.

The next stage is media or comms. I am involved with that bit.Don’t watch your breakfast tv for a while folks. bleurghh.