The Community Paediatric Continence Service (Level 2) for children and young people aged 0-19 provides assessment, treatment and support for children and young people with bladder and bowel dysfunction, where first line intervention (Level 1) has not led to a resolution of the problem.

The aim of this service is to promote continence for all children and young people in order to try and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and tertiary referrals. 

The service provides support for children and young people who experience daytime wetting, night time wetting and constipation either to achieve complete continence, or to manage their continence condition discreetly and effectively if full control is not clinically possible. This includes children with learning and/or physical difficulties.

The service offers:

• Basic advice to promote healthy bladders and bowels to reduce the risk of issues becoming chronic such as constipation.
• Provide initial advice on nocturnal enuresis, constipation and toilet training problems.
• Provide bed alarms on loan for the treatment of nocturnal enuresis.
• The treatment programme may include the prescription of stimulant laxatives or macrogols for constipation/desmopressin for enuresis/anticholinergic medication for overactive bladder syndrome. These will be prescribed by the GP following recommendation by the community paediatric continence nurse.
• Advice available for Level 1 services in relation to the assessment and ordering of containment products.

This service comprises of one Band 7 Specialist Paediatric Continence Nurse who is holds a Children’s Nursing Qualification (RN qualification) and has extensive experience of working with young people for over 25 years.

There is also one Administrator with many years of experience in NHS administration who works part time (Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s only 9am-5.30pm).

Clinic information

Clinics are held every Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday by the Paediatric Continence Specialist Nurse. Assessments with the Paediatric Continence Specialist Nurse are a blend of telephone and face to face consultations with also the availability of video calling as appropriate to meet the needs of the individual family. 

Face to face clinics are held at:

Specialist Community Health Services for Children and Young People
The Grove
Grove Road
Chadwell Heath
RM6 4XH

Clinic telephone number: 0300 300 1618
Paediatric specialist continence Team email address:  PaedContinence@nelft.nhs.uk

Referrals are only accepted from G.P / School Health/Health Visiting) / Community/ Hospital Consultants and any other professionals.

Referrals can be emailed using the single referral form through single point of access (SPA) — please click here for the form Redbridge SPA Referral Form (Dec 2023).doc [doc] 538KB

Referral route

Following Level 1 intervention the NELFT SPA Referral Form must be completed and sent to the service as below:

• Email form to SPAreferrals.Redbridge@nelft.nhs.uk
• Referrals are only accepted from GP/School Health/Health Visiting)/Community/Hospital Consultants and any other professionals.
• Referrer must demonstrate that a physical assessment has been completed to rule out any underlying concerns.
• Referrer must demonstrate that there has been Level 1 intervention — Basic advice to promote healthy bladders and bowels to reduce the risk of issues becoming chronic such as constipation – fluid intake / dietary advice ,providing initial advice on nocturnal enuresis, constipation and toilet training problems – ERIC and National Bowel and Bladder parent/child leaflets / fluid diaries / toileting routines/ raising awareness of children with disabilities and developmental needs requiring early support with toileting.

Useful information resource for parents/professionals to use prior to making a referral WWW.eric.org.uk.

Referral criteria

• The service will offer assessment, treatment and support to children and young people aged 0-19 years with level 2 continence needs (night time wetting/daytime wetting/constipation and soiling). Children between 0-2 years will be considered following discussion with the Specialist Paediatric Continence Nurse.

Exclusion criteria

• Young People aged 19 years and over. (Young people who are due to turn 19 whilst under the Paediatric Continence Service will be transferred to the Adult Continence Service if the input is still required as per NICE Guidance).
• Children and Young People not living in the BHR CGG areas (with BHR GP).
• Children and Young People who have not received initial advice, input and review from Tier 1 services (0-19 Universal Services/Health Visiting/School Nursing/GP).

Those children not requiring level 2 intervention but require continence containment products will be supported/assessed and managed under the care of Universal Services – Please contact:

• Redbridge 0-19 Universal SPA  Redbridge0-19UniversalSPA@nelft.nhs.uk
• Havering 0-19 SPA  Havering0-19SPA@nelft.nhs.uk
• Barking and Dagenham Childrens SPA BDChildrensSpa@nelft.nhs.uk and DutydeskchildrenBD@nelft.nhs.uk