Written question asked by Baroness Blood (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Wednesday, 6 July 2005.

Northern Ireland: Continence Services

Question: What action has been taken by the Northern Ireland Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety since the publication of Good Practice in Continence Services in 2000 in relation to (a) identification of patients in Northern Ireland with incontinence; (b) treatment in primary care within Northern Ireland; and (c) integration of primary, secondary and tertiary continence services within Northern Ireland.

Answer: It is for each Health and Social Services Board to commission continence services appropriate to the assessed needs of its resident population. In commissioning these, services boards are expected to have regard to the recommendations of the department’s Central Nursing Advisory Committee 1995 report on the review of continence services.I expect boards to share their experiences of best practice and draw on similar initiatives taken forward in other parts of the United Kingdom, including the Department of Health’s 2000 report entitled Good Practice in Continence Services and the 2001 Essence of Care project benchmark for continence services, in developing local continence services.

Secondary information