'I want bladder health on the school curriculum' - Dudley MP's call to end 'stigma and silence' about incontinence

Leading the first ever Commons debate on incontinence, Dudley MP Sonia Kumar said the condition was more common than hayfever, but people were still reluctant to talk about it.

She said 14 million people - one in five of the population - were living with bowel problems. 

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Miss Kumar said menstruation, cancer and mental health problems were once considered subjects that were not discussed in polite conversation, but now people felt able to talk freely about them.

She said she wanted the same to be true of incontinence.

"Did you know bladder and bowel incontinence is more common than hayfever?" she asked MPs, during the debate.

"A third of women are living with these conditions right now. It affects 1.5 million children and young people, while half a million adults have bowel conditions leading to involuntary loss of faeces,” she said. 

Miss Kumar shared moving patient stories, including that of Dawn, who delayed seeking help due to shame: “She didn’t go to the GP, because she was ashamed. She was leaking urine to the point where she wasn’t leaving the house.

"Dawn eventually received specialist care and her symptoms have vastly improved.” 

Miss Kumar praised services such as Dudley Adult Bladder and Bowel Service, but said they often lived a 'Cinderella' existence, not receiving the support they needed.

"We are letting too many people down,” she said.

Miss Kumar called on the Government to launch a national public information campaign to raise awareness about incontinence and end the stigma.

“I want bladder and bowel health to form part of the school syllabus, and the training of all healthcare professionals,” she said. 

More research was needed into bowel and bladder problems, she said, and she asked health minister Karin Smyth to commit to a ban on misleading advertisements which gave the wrong messages to people

She also called for a ‘one stop shop’ where all services were under one roof, and to make care closer to home.

Miss Smyth said those living with incontinence deserved to receive the best possible care wherever they lived, and a key part of that was the NHS providing high quality guidance.