A nurse has scooped a prestigious award for her caring work with patients suffering from incontinence.
Kelly Stackhouse, a lead nurse delivering care for patients who have undergone bowel surgery at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, was revealed as Continence Nurse of the Year in the British Journal of Nursing Awards.
Kelly is recognised for devising a specialist treatment pathway for patients with faecal incontinence, constipation and those who have undergone an anterior resection – a surgical procedure to remove the diseased portion of the bowel and rectum.
The nurse set up the FINCH Service (Faecal Incontinence and Constipation Healthcare) 10 years ago, which offers intervention to all patients undergoing this nature of surgery providing support, advice, treatment and peer support.
The service is also for patients who have functional bowel disorders, which means it doesn’t work properly, leading to problems such as constipation, needing to rush to the toilet, losing control of the bowel following surgery in that area.
Kelly said of the win: “I am so honoured to have received this prestigious award. It shows how important a service like this is, as it has provided invaluable support for patients who have had this nature of surgery and who also suffer from other bowel related issues, improving their quality of life.
“This is a very unique service and other NHS Trusts are now beginning to adopt this as a result of the work we have been doing and the recognition it has received.
“I hope that this will provide a further platform to assist us in our mission to ‘break the taboo and talk poo’ which in turn will help more people who are suffering in silence.”
The service has received a number of accolades and national media attention. In March, Kelly and her team were the focus of the Radio 4 programme Inside Health interviewed by Trust Me I’m a Doctor presenter, Dr Saleyha Ahsan.
The programme is known for discussing health issues which people struggle to understand.
For more information about the service, email swb-tr.SWBH-GM-FINCH@nhs.net.
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