Resources

Author: June Rogers MBE, Independent Children's Bladder and Bowel Practitioner

The human gastrointestinal tract contains the body’s largest community of microbes, comprising trillions of microorganisms collectively referred to as the gut microbiota. Disruption or imbalance in the gut microbiota may result in dysbiosis or leaky gut syndrome. Dysbiosis has been linked to a range of diseases in both children and adults, including autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, and various allergies.

One-piece closed bags for colostomies: late-stage assessment, the latest health technology evaluation from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), was published earlier this month.

Author: Catherine Best, Visiting lecturer in nursing, Birmingham City University, Birmingham

‘Wicked’ problems, a term for complex, challenging issues, are inherent in healthcare, and it can be argued that they exist in all areas of life. Yet, it is possible to provide solutions to these problems by understanding the complex nature of inter-process communication, inter-professional collaboration and shared commitment, the successful application of which has the potential to bring about positive change.

An estimated 90 000 people living in the community have long-term indwelling urinary catheters (Gage et al, 2017). Most urinary catheters are initially inserted in hospital (Shackley et al, 2017). In some cases, there are plans to carry out a trial without catheter (TWOC) but in other cases the indication for urinary catheterisation is unclear and/or there are no plans to remove the catheter. Around 50–70% of people with long-term catheters experience problems such as bladder pain, catheter leakage, blockage and urinary tract infection (Youssef et al, 2023). In the past TWOC was routinely carried out in dedicated hospital clinics (Tay et al, 2016), but in recent years increasing numbers of TWOCs have been carried out in the community (Logan and Coghlan, 2022). Suprapubic catheters are often inserted when it is difficult to catheterise urethrally and there can be the sense that suprapubic catheters are permanent (British Association of Urological Surgeons (2025). This article explores suprapubic TWOC in community settings.

By: Maya Pote, Therapy Lead, Ealing and Northwick Park Hospitals, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust; Victoria Jones, Principal Physiotherapist, MSK & Pelvic Health, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

UCCT is exploring the roles of the different professions of the multidisciplinary team. Maya Pote talks to Victoria Jones about the role of physiotherapy, and what she wishes her patients and her colleagues knew about physiotherapy and pelvic health.
 

Urinary symptoms are unusual in healthy young adults, especially in men. This is changing as a result of increased recreational use of ketamine and its effects on the urinary system. This article highlights the clinical features of ketamine-induced uropathy and outlines treatments.

Intermittent urethral catheters for chronic incomplete bladder emptying in adults: late-stage assessment, the latest health technology evaluation from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), is published today, 9 July 2025.

This World Continence Week (16-22 June) ERIC, The Children’s Bowel & Bladder Charity have launched a campaign with TV star Mollie Pearce and 8-year-old Katie Thirling, who both have stomas, to raise awareness and break the stigma around bowel and bladder issues.  

Around 10,500 people are diagnosed with bladder cancer in the UK every year. It's the 11th most common cancer in the UK, and the 7th most common cancer in men (Cancer Research UK, 2025a).  Bladder cancer is most common in older people. Almost 60% of new cases are in people aged 75 years and over, and it is rare in people under 40 years of age. More men than women get bladder cancer. This may be because more men than women have smoked or been exposed to chemicals at work in recent decades (Cancer Research UK, 2025a).

With a quarter of children now starting school not toilet trained, ERIC, The Children’s Bowel and Bladder Charity is launching an intervention to help reverse the trend, and is inviting families and healthcare professionals to hop aboard the Toilet Train.

Over the last century, the average age that children are being potty trained in the UK has risen from 12–18 months, to an average of around three or even four years today (Blum et al, 2004).