Concerns have been raised about a lack of incontinence pads provided to people in care.
On average, people in Isle of Wight care settings, including St Mary’s Hospital and residential homes, are provided with four pads a day. If they need more, families have been asked to provide them.
“Laying in his own urine”
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was ‘so distressing’ to see her 70-year-old husband, a care home resident who had suffered two strokes and had severe dementia, ‘laying in his own urine’.
She said:
“When I visited my husband, and on other previous occasions, I was upset to see he was wet through.
“My husband is unable to move or speak very much and we are not sure how much he can see — but he cannot call for help.”
Carers delay changing pads to make them last
She said she raised her concerns with a staff member, who dropped the ‘bombshell’ that carers delay changing pads to make them last — because of NHS allocations.
She said she already struggled with care fees and could not afford to buy extra incontinence pads.
“I was horrified. It’s an appalling restriction of a necessity to ensure a basic level of care and dignity.”
Between January and September this year, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust spent £578,118 on continence services — providing pads to individuals at home, in the hospital or at care homes.
NHS: If patient needed more, they would be provided
The trust said the number of incontinence pads allocated was based on individual assessments by a continence advisor — and if a patient needed more, they would be provided with them.
The trust is contractually required to provide a level of care stipulated by the Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
NHS: Demand increasing all the time
A spokesperson for Isle of Wight NHS Trust said:
“We know how important these services are to people and how much of an impact they can have on their quality of life.
“Around 2,242 Island residents currently receive continence products from our continence service, with demand increasing all the time.”
