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Incontinence pads

(17 Posts)
Katyj Mon 08-Jul-19 17:54:50

Can anyone help please, this is all new to me.My mum broke her hip 5 weeks ago, and is now in a rehabilitation hospital, ever since her fall she has become incontinent, I don't know if this is permanent or not. The nurse rang me today to ask if I could take night pads in and day pants, I have bought tena lady knickers for the day, but dont know which would be the best place to buy the pads, seems like she's going to need a lot.

mumofmadboys Mon 08-Jul-19 17:58:26

Should be provided by NHS. Ask the District nurses who cover your Mum's address

MissAdventure Mon 08-Jul-19 18:05:30

I phoned my mums gp practice, and they put me in touch with the continence nurse.
She came to visit, we decide what was needed, and they were delivered the next week.

Katyj Mon 08-Jul-19 18:06:41

The nurse did say there's someone I can contact when she goes home, but she has to provide her own whilst in there.

Laurely Mon 08-Jul-19 18:14:00

Try a pharmacy; Lloyd's rather than Boots, to buy some for now. Lloyds' staff seem to me to be more knowledgeable in general. But do make sure you ask there for advice.

I am surprised you are expected to be responsible for supplying these, since she is in a hospital. I am trying to recall; after my mother left rehab and went home, I think it was the District Nurse's involvement that ensured Mum had a regular supply of pads delivered.

Ask for help and advice at the hospital, and at your GP surgery - or your mother's, if that is different.

Good luck.

MissAdventure Mon 08-Jul-19 18:15:24

Hopefully someone will be able to clarify for you, as I'm not sure how it stands when someone is in hospital.

Do you shop online, because it may be better to order in bulk and have them delivered?

Septimia Mon 08-Jul-19 18:29:06

We had to provide incontinence pads for my FiL whe he was in hospital and interim care but understood that they would be provided by the NHS if he went home (which, unfortunately, he didn't).

Justme67 Mon 08-Jul-19 18:36:43

Although I chose to buy incontinence pads/pants for my husband, they were readily available through the NHS and I see no reason why this should not be so for Katyj. In fact when my husband was in hospital, I asked if they needed any pads and I was told no thank you. When he died I was left with two full unopened boxes of pads, wrote to the local hospice to see if they would like them, told they had cupboards full, so no thank you. Once again the Salvation Army came to the rescue and took both the opened and unopened packets.

tidyskatemum Mon 08-Jul-19 19:01:15

I think NHS provision of pads depends on where you live. We had to jump through umpteen hoops to get pads for my Dad and it took months, with my poor old Mum spending a fortune and having mountains of washing to do in the meantime. And the NHS only supply pads, whereas from my experience a lot of people eg with dementia are better off with pull up pants.

aggie Mon 08-Jul-19 19:06:35

Our District Nurse got someone to assess OH and decide what was suitable , we did buy extra from A.....n , but when he was in Hospital they wouldn't let us bring any in , even though they were better than the hospital ones .
Get some from the local Pharmacy and if they fit try and see if cheaper on line

BlueBelle Mon 08-Jul-19 19:11:19

I didn’t have to provide pads while either mum or dad were in hospital Can it be a postcode thingy
An incontinence nurse cane to visit in the home and sorted everything which was delivered to us (I think) fortnightly

Humbertbear Mon 08-Jul-19 20:23:43

The NHS only provide a limited supply - not enough for everyday needs. My mum has to supplement what they provide out of her own pocket

Lazigirl Mon 08-Jul-19 20:55:42

Every person who is incontinent is entitled to an assessment by a continence nurse. May be a daft question, but is your mum actually incontinent or can't she access the commode in time with help? They will only supply NHS pads after she has been assessed as to the reason for the incontinence and if they consider it necessary, not usually if they deem it a temporary condition. This applies to patients at home or in private or NHS facilities. Exception would be acute illness or end of life care I think.

Katyj Tue 09-Jul-19 05:36:35

Not a daft question at all Lazigirl. She seems to have urgency, and because of her hip pain she cannot get up quickly enough, plus she's pressing her buzzer frequently and nobody is coming to her, she's very upset and embarrassed by it all.There's no explanation as to why this happening, but she is on lots of tablets for high blood pressure and arythmia problems.Thank you to everyone for replying.

Lazigirl Tue 09-Jul-19 09:22:22

Have they checked for urine infection Katyj? It is indeed very upsetting for a person who has been previously independent and self caring.

Luckygirl Tue 09-Jul-19 09:26:46

My OH gets the pads free; and they were free in both hospital and hospice.

annsixty Tue 09-Jul-19 09:40:30

After a battle I got them for my H but for many months I used the pullups which I got from a website called The Incontinence Shop.
They were much cheaper than the mobility shop locally.
When he went into care he got pads supplied direct but I still bought and took in, the "net" pants which hold then properly in place.
They are a necessity in my opinion.