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Paediatric bladder dysfunction: A single centre experience of public hospital wait times
Norman Ling1, Misel Trajanovska2,3, Andrew Griffith1
1Department of Paediatric Surgery, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Insights
Children with wetting issues face long waits, often over five months, for specialist appointments. This study quantizes these delays, highlighting the need for improved pediatric continence care pathways.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Urology
- Continence Management
- Healthcare Access
Background:
- Paediatric bladder dysfunction, including daytime urinary incontinence and enuresis, is a common and distressing condition.
- Children with these symptoms often experience significant treatment delays due to long waiting lists.
- These delays can negatively impact both the child and their family unit.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the waiting times for children attending hospital outpatient clinics for symptoms of wetting.
- To analyze the referral and triage pathways for pediatric continence issues.
- To compare current waiting times with previous audit data.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective review of patients referred to The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne outpatient clinics for wetting symptoms was conducted.
- Data on referral, triage, and time to first clinic appointment were collected.
- A comparison was made to a previous audit from the same institution.
Main Results:
- A median waiting time of 181 days was observed for the 94 valid responses.
- Waiting times for isolated wetting symptoms (187 days) were similar to those with mixed bowel and bladder dysfunction (171.5 days).
- Most patients (n=68) were triaged to the continence clinic, with smaller numbers seen in other specialties.
Conclusions:
- Waiting times for pediatric wetting issues frequently exceed five months.
- There is a need to explore alternative triage pathways to manage demand and reduce wait times.
- Improving access to care is crucial for children experiencing bladder dysfunction.
Aim:
Paediatric bladder dysfunction, including daytime urinary incontinence and enuresis, is a common and distressing condition. Unfortunately, children with these symptoms are often on waitlists for several months. This treatment delay may significantly impact upon the child and family unit. This study aimed to quantify waiting times for children who had attended hospital outpatient clinics for symptoms of wetting.
Methods:
A retrospective review was undertaken for patients who had been referred to The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne outpatient clinics for symptoms of wetting (with/without bowel symptoms). Data regarding the referral and triage pathway, up to the time of the first clinic appointment, were collected. These data were compared to a previous audit conducted in the same setting.
Results:
A total of 101 clinic attendances were included in this study. The overall waiting time, from receipt of referral to the patient's first clinic attendance, was a median of 181 days (n = 94 valid responses; range 7-695). Wait times for patients with isolated symptoms of wetting were similar to patients with mixed bowel and bladder dysfunction (187 and 171.5 days, respectively). Most patients were triaged to the continence clinic (n = 68), whilst smaller proportions of patients were seen in the encopresis (n = 14), urology (n = 13), general medicine (n = 2), gastroenterology (n = 1) and nurse-led enuresis clinic (n = 3).
Conclusions:
The waiting times for patients with wetting generally exceeded 5 months. Alternative pathways for triage need to be explored to manage demand and improve wait times.
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