​Swigging antibiotics, painkillers and back patches to stick me together I stumbled down to London. Unfortunately somehow Dipstick and his usually efficient staff have gone a bit ​secretive and a bit secluded…its a bit like a state of purdah: Emails are encrypted​,​ ​that’s the ones I can find and try to decipher, ..some are even from some anonymous other surgeon, results are lost, letters are being typed by an outsourced source… Ie haven’t got a clue… Total rubbish in the clinic letters… Arghhhh… Growling emails got me nowhere… Am I now under this other surgeon now​? Was my petulant email back.  Dipstick has tried to get help. Even today he asked if someone could find the results. But to no avail. No results sent out.

Meanwhile, yet another bloody election means some of the projects I’m working on have yet again been put into purdah. That is​,​ ​closed down, only to be reignited after it​’​s all over and the Queen’s speech happens.
As it happens the All Party Parliamentary Group for Continence​ Care​ was due to meet today. Instead, a ​policy and clinical f​orum meeting was called to hear Sir Robert Francis​,​ amongst others ​,​speak.
Mindful of purdah Sir Robert the infamous Chair of the Francis report spoke about his work with Healthwatch England. He retold ​horrendous ​stories of ​Bl​adder and Bowel care. What he put so eloquently was the need for basic awareness, education and care. Most importantly compassion and empathy. 
I took exception to some of his terminology. For incontinence, please say continence. For treatment please don’t assume pads are the answer. 
Other speakers wound me up too. Banging on about absorbency of pads. I don’t care I declared, if they absorb 500 mls or 1000 mls… Would YOU seriously expect to walk around with a smelly heavy wet pad on all day.  You wouldn’t do it to a baby would you… I growled. I know some patients who are rationed to 3 a day. That’s horrendous.

Other speakers talked about product testing but again this was about pads. Why bother with all this testing… There are very few continence services and then there is rationing of pads that are low quality and leak. Oh they just need to be fitted correctly was the patronising reply.
I was beginning to get really grumpy! I even unloaded my rucksack to show them what a disposable catheter looks like, a radar key, a discrete pad, as I went on unpacking the silence was deafening… Sorry, I mumbled… I just feel a bit passionate about this… swigging another dose antibiotics washed down with a paracetamol or two.
But some good news in the form of meeting with university heads of medical schools, to build and mandate a mandatory urological element. Basic bladder stuff. Bowel stuff. The GP who has taken on improved continence care training in medical schools, asked me to join his working group. Well, in front of the assembled meeting how could I refuse?
Good news was updates on the building of a web based assessment tool. I’ve done a bit on that. It will be good.
Some good bits, some annoying bits. Continence is about bladders and bowels. Leaking or not emptying. Pads are not necessarily the long term answer. Assessment, treatment, empathy and compassion. By TRAINED staff…. that’s the way forward.
As I left, shaking hands and hugs and swapping email addresses, to all those I’d just growled at, I glimpsed Big Ben. maybe MPs hug and shake after they’ve growled at each other in the chamber?
You know what? Once we’ve done our purdah I have an inkling we might just get mandatory training, mandatory commissioning of excellence in continence care, we might even break some taboos.
Or maybe I’m just dreaming in a secretive secluded purdahesque world.