All Party Parliamentary Group
for Bladder and Bowel Continence Care

Our mission is to break the taboo by raising awareness of bladder and bowel continence care for adults and children and to promote cost effective funding for assessment, treatment and appropriate product provision.

All Party Parliamentary Group for Bladder and Bowel Continence Care

Our mission is to break the taboo by raising awareness of bladder and bowel continence care for adults and children and to promote cost effective funding for assessment, treatment and appropriate product provision.

Welcome

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Bladder and Bowel Continence Care was set up in 2009. In January 2020, the name was changed to the APPG for Bladder and Bowel Continence Care.

The APPG is chaired by Andrew Selous MP. The group aims to “Break the taboo by raising awareness of bladder and bowel continence care for adults and children and to promote cost effective funding for assessment, treatment and appropriate product provision”.

The APPG has the invaluable support of a wide cohort of leading clinicians and experts who give their time freely. They include representatives of the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Physicians, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and groups and organisations which focus on bladder and bowel continence care.

Around 14 million men, women, young people and children are living with bladder and bowel continence problems. This may be temporary or long term, but anyone who is affected should have access to specialist assessment, treatment and management. It is important to remember that the majority of cases of bladder weakness can be successfully treated.

Incontinence can have a profoundly negative impact on quality of life, creating isolation, loss of dignity plus associated social problems. Lack of community-based continence services can result in increased A&E attendance and unplanned admissions as well as secondary care costs due to urinary tract infections and other co-morbidities.

  • The APPG continues to campaign for better services. One major achievement was the development of a clinical and policy continence group at NHS England and the subsequent development and publication of national guidelines called Excellence in Continence Care. Other notable achievements include:
  • Publication of the Cost-Effective Commissioning for Continence Care Guidelines for Clinical Commissioning Groups.
  • Publication of Continence Services Survey Report.
  • Working with the National Midwifery Council to ensure the inclusion of continence training and standards for pre-registration nurses and midwives.

Officers of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Bladder and Bowel Continence Care are:

Chair
Andrew Selous MP, Conservative

Co-Chair
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, Crossbench

Officer
Ruth Jones MP, Labour

Officer
Nick Fletcher MP, Conservative

Officer
Lord Watson of Wyre Forest, Labour