Supported by

The Bladder & Bowel UK Symposium provides healthcare professionals with an excellent opportunity to receive relevant education from national speakers.

The event includes a brand new programme of inspirational lectures, multi-disciplinary discussions and case studies to influence best practices, together with an extensive exhibition including company representatives and charitable services.

Fiona Reid

Consultant Urogynaecologist

It’s all about choice at the cutting edge!

After the Montgomery legal case which focussed on the importance of informed consent, the Cumberlege ‘Do no harm’ report, and the NICE Guidance into urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, clinicians need to ensure women are at the centre of decisions to undergo surgery. This session will focus on the choices that are on offer.

Helen Ashby

Macmillan Colorectal Specialist Nurse  

Bowel Cancers and LARS

Charlotte Kingston

Female Genital Mutilation

Emma Sur

Consultant A&E

A&E Attendance and Avoidance Bladder and Bowel Care 

Polly Weston

Clinical Lead

Working ICB wide to develop clinical pathways and service improvement 

Tracy Reed RGN 

Urology Nurse

Carol Hutchings RGN

Nursing Services Manager

Care and management of nephrostomies

This talk covers the fundamentals of nephrostomy care. Attendees will gain an understanding of what a nephrostomy is and when a patient may need one. The session will explain the process of fitting a nephrostomy. By the end of the talk, participants will feel confident in managing patients with a nephrostomy, including assisting with bag changes, wound care and flushing the nephrostomy system.

Elinor Howcroft

Continence Service Lead

The Continence Quality improvement project using the Female external catheter

The aim and objective of this improvement innovation project was to introduce the Purewick, a female external catheter, trust wide as an alternative for female patients to prevent unnecessary urinary catheter insertion, incorrect pad usage and to overall reduce MASD and preventing harm such as Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and hospital acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs) to patients. The Purewick has added equality to patients offering a safer option for urinary incontinences for both males and now females.

Claire Waters

Paediatric Bladder and Bowel Specialist Nurse 

Reducing A&E attendance due to constipation

A project was introduced to provide timely follow-up for children and young people presenting to A&E with Idiopathic Chronic Constipation. Patients were reviewed in a nurse-led clinic within 2–3 working days of attendance. A streamlined pathway was implemented in A&E to ensure invasive procedures, such as enemas and hospital admissions, were only used when clinically necessary. Data collected throughout the project demonstrated a significant reduction in invasive procedures, admissions, and repeat attendances. Quality of life questionnaires revealed substantial improvements, and the project also enhanced sustainability in care delivery.

Theresa Cutts

Use of D-Mannose for urinary tract infection in children

Charlotte Kingston

Female Genital Mutilation

Dr Claire Jones

Senior Lecturer in the History of Medicine

Buzzers for Bedwetters: Modern Histories of Urinary Incontinence and Their Uses Today

Urine incontinence has been common to the human experience throughout history, but it was from the late nineteenth century that it came to be seen as a significant medical and moral problem in Britain. This talk will outline how and why incontinence came to be viewed this way and what doctors and others sought to do about it. It focuses on different approaches and treatments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, drawing parallels with approaches and treatments today. Indeed, far from suggesting that past treatments were cruel or backwards, this paper will highlight past and present continuities and thus provide historical insights useful for treating incontinence today.

Polly Weston

The role of the ICB

Clinical Lead

Hayley Watson RSCN

Children’s Community Nurse

Claire Waters

Paediatric Bladder and Bowel Specialist Nurse

Toilet training in special school – Sharing innovative practice

A talk about a toileting programme developed for Hadrian School, a special needs school in Newcastle. It was identified that many children at the school experienced delayed continence, with limited targeted support available to address this issue. In response, a programme designed to support both the children and their parents, while also providing guidance to school staff was created. Hayley and Claire discuss how the project was formed, what they did and the outcomes they gained.

Dr Paula Drummond MBCHb MRCP(UK) DCH

Daytime urinary incontinence

Consultant Paediatrician

Dr Drummond will discuss the approach to assessing children who present with daytime wetting, common presenting conditions and the treatment and management pathways.

Claire Ferguson

Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist

Non-pharmacological treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms

* On rare occasions due to unforeseeable circumstances some topics are subject to change

The Symposium is aimed at a wide range of healthcare professionals including specialist, urology, general, children’s and school nurses, allied healthcare professionals and those who work in residential and care homes. 

There will be concurrent educational streams providing delegates with the opportunity to access a broad adult and paediatric programme.

A light lunch is provided with intervals to explore an extensive exhibition including company representatives and charitable services.

Attending the symposium will contribute to NMC revalidation and CPD for other healthcare professionals. An official certificate of attendance is provided.