Our LEaP project helps Rhiannon get the continence supplies she needs

23 November 2017

Our LEaP Project helped Rhiannon get the incontinence supplies she needs.

Our LEaP project helps Rhiannon get the continence supplies she needs

23 November 2017

Our LEaP Project helped Rhiannon get the incontinence supplies she needs.

Nappies

Rhiannon received the continence supplies she needsOur LEaP Project helps Rhiannon get the continence supplies she needs and our template letter could help you to write to your local health board.

Our Legal Entitlements and Problem-Solving (LEaP) Project supports families who are struggling to get access to health or social care services. Louise contacted us for help with getting continence products for her daughter, Rhiannon, who’s 9 years old and has Wolf-Hirschorn syndrome. Louise and Rhiannon live in North Wales.

The local continence service had told Louise that it couldn’t supply more than 4 continence products per 24 hours, even though Rhiannon needed more because of her condition. Louise was also concerned about the quality of the nappies, as the adhesive fasteners seemed to be aggravating Rhiannon’s skin and would often break off. We told Louise about some guidance published by the Welsh Government , which describes the level of service that patients can expect to receive. This guidance says that the ‘4 a day’ maximum is just a general rule and that the actual number of products supplied will depend on a child’s individual needs. The guidance also says that families can ask for a re-assessment if their needs change. Louise took our advice and asked for a reassessment.

During our research into Louise’s problem, we noticed that another part of the guidance said that there was a strict limit of 4 pads per day and that families who needed more would be told to buy their own. We wrote to the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Health to explain Louise’s situation and highlight the contradiction between the different parts of the guidance.

In response to our letter, the Welsh Government asked the local health board to address Louise’s concerns. It also agreed to update the guidance to make it clear that the number of nappies supplied should always meet a child’s assessed needs – in the meantime, it agreed to contact every health board in Wales to explain the guidance, so that other families weren’t told that they could only have 4 products a day.

The health board’s head of nursing contacted Louise and we’re pleased to report that Rhiannon is now getting the nappies that she needs. The local continence team has told Louise that it will review Rhiannon’s needs on a regular basis.

Do you live in Wales? Has your local continence team said that you can’t have more than 4 continence products a day, even if your child needs more? If so, use our template letter below to write to your local health board.

If you live in England and you’ve had similar problems to Louise, contact us at [email protected]

 

Template letter to ask the local health board for more continence products to meet a disabled child’s needs.(this letter applies to Wales only):

Please change or delete the green text as appropriate.

Dear Sirs

Continence products for my [son/daughter][name]

My [son/daughter] [name] is [age] and s/he has [disability/condition].

I was recently told by [name of person] that [child’s name] is only entitled to a maximum of 4 continence products per 24 hours. However, [child’s name] needs more products than this because [explain why your child needs more because of their condition].

I recently read an article in Cerebra’s newsletter, which explained that the Welsh Government has published guidance called the “All Wales Children and Young People’s Continence Guidance and Care Pathway”. This guidance says that:

“the number of disposable products supplied per 24 hours will depend on the individual child or young person’s needs, but would normally not exceed 4 products per day without prior consultation with the Continence Service”

This means that whilst the health board can have a ‘general rule’ of 4 products per 24 hours, it should always supply enough products to meet a child’s assessed needs. I understand that the Welsh Government’s Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Jean White, is arranging a review of this guidance to make this meaning clear to all health boards.

As such, I am writing to ask the health board to:
– assess [child’s name]’s needs within [give a timescale you feel is reasonable], and
– provide a sufficient number of products to meet his/her assessed needs.

Yours faithfully

Your name

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