'Lansley must listen to nurses on the front line' continence, cost-cutting, dementia, ethics, incontinence, long-term conditions, older people, pads, reviews
Use of incontinence pad manufacturers to perform community pad reviews
Posted in: Continence nursing | Specialist nursing areas
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I have discovered that in some areas, manufacturers of incontinence pads are performing the reviews of incontinence pads in residential homes instead of the nurses. If the home is requesting a higher absorbency, the manufacturers are allowed to change the prescription of pad without any further assessment performed as to why the resident may need a higher absorbency e.g. UTI, urinary retention, constipation; pathology. When questioned on this I was told "Well it's most probably their dementia".
How ethical is this and is this a case of "Second class" service as part of a cost cutting exercise as I feel any change in bladder function should be assessed as to its cause regardless of the patient's circumstances.
