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Community Bladder and Bowel Service Portsmouth
The service promotes continence and the management of incontinence, along with all aspects of pelvic floor dysfunction, through interventions by specifically trained nurses and a womens' health physiotherapist. These clinicians provide an assessment service for clients with bladder, bowel and pelvic floor difficulties following clinical pathways agreed with consultants and GPs.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Referral criteria
View our referral form, which also includes contact details for the service and a secure email address which should be used to send the referral to the team:
Resources for first appointment
Click on the below links to download our resources.
Pre assessment medical questionnaire
Fluid chart
Bowel diary
Contact details
If you have any questions about or service, or need to get in touch please use the details below:
Bladder and Bowel Service
St. Marys Community Health Campus
Milton Road
Portsmouth
PO3 6AD
Portsmouth Bladder and Bowel Service: 0300 123 3386
Portsmouth Home Delivery Service: 0300 123 3395
Email (secure for referrals and clinical queries):snhs.bladderandbowelportsmouth@nhs.net
Full service description
About our service
The Continence Service has changed its name to the Community Bladder and Bowel Service; responding to patients’ suggestions and feedback from a questionnaire. It would appear the word “continence" no longer reflects the holistic / complex diagnostic, treatment and care we provide. This is also in line with national similar services across the country changing their names to Bladder and Bowel Service.
The Community Bladder and Bowel Service is an excellent service for patients, carers and relatives and has a number of different elements to the service. With any service like this, there is a tendency to focus on pad provision for patients and not treatment, this service is different and ensures that patients get extensive treatment to try and help resolve and improve conditions rather than just relying on pad provision.
How our service can help
Our service can help in a number of different ways. Initial assessments provided could include:
- Assessment and examination to include vaginal and rectal examination as indicated.
- Prostate (digital rectal examination) and prolapsed assessment (vaginal ex) and bladder scans to determine whether the patient has residual urine. Please note, no anticholinergic agent medication should be given before a bladder scan.
- Urolometry to help the diagnosis of obstruction, stricture and poor bladder pressure.
- The development of a management treatment plan that the patient can take ownership
- Treatment such as bladder retraining, bio-feedback and pelvic floor exercises. Our staff are fully trained in these areas and have regular updates.
- Prescription of containment products if required, which includes pads.
Please click the links below for further details on first contacts with the service and our advanced clinics.
Conditions treated by our service
Our service can help treat a number of conditions, and a wide range of treatment options are used to ensure each individual gets the care that is right for them.
Conditions treated include:
· Bladder dysfunction - SUI, mixed UI and OAB.
· Bowel dysfunction - faecal incontinence, flatus incontinence, obstructed defecation.
· Pelvic floor dysfunction - e.g. vaginal pain, dyspareunia and sexual dysfunction, vulvodynia, vaginismus, anismus, PFM dyssynergia, hypertonicity or hypotonicity of the PFM, post PFM surgery rehab where required.
· Pelvic organ prolapses.
· Patients who have sustained third or fourth degree obstetric perineal tears during delivery for prophylactic pelvic floor rehabilitation.
Treatments provided include:
- Supervised and individualised PFM rehabilitation / exercise programs.
- Advice and education as well as health promotion.
- Bladder re-training, fluid advice and analysis of bladder diaries.
- PFM EMG biofeedback training.
- Postural and core stability advice and exercise.
- Manual therapy pelvic floor techniques i.e. trigger point massage.
- Relaxation techniques.
- Advice on defecation dynamics, bowel retraining and diet.
- Liaison with secondary care MDT.
- Advice on devices i.e. vaginal weighted cones, home NMES units, pelvic floor educators, vaginal dilators, SUI vaginal inserts etc.
Contact Information
Meg Davies
snhs.BladderandBowelPortsmouth@nhs.net
2nd Floor Block B, St Mary Community Health Campus, Milton Road, Portsmouth, PO3 6AD
Opening hours
- Monday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
- Tuesday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
- Wednesday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
- Thursday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
- Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm