Provision of services for incontinent elderly people at home

Results of a survey of elderly people living at home suggest that 8% suffer from important degrees of urinary dysfunction and are accessible to community based services. Supply of NHS incontinence aids was inadequate, and improvements in provision are recommended. Attendance at a continence clinic established for the survey period suggests a need for additional specialist services to be made available close to home. Correspondence between actual and predicted cystometric diagnosis provides encouragement to develop simple, valid assessment procedures as an aid to patient management. For the average District Health Authority serving a population of 250 000, two continence nurse advisers and 50 continence clinic sessions per annum are recommended for people aged 75 and over.