Fingerpost Health Centre, St Helens

Children across the UK have a 0.8% probability of continence problems including both bladder and bowel. In the St Helens area the occurrence is almost double that percentage. The Paediatric Continence Team based at Fingerpost Health Centre has requested Ultrasound Bladder Scanner for their service to enable them to treat children in their own homes.

The scanner is easily portable and will enable the team to identify if a child has retained urine which can lead to infection of the bladder and kidneys and cause long term damage if untreated. The scanner can also detect other abnormalities. The benefits of scanning a child at home or a local clinic include reduced anxiety and stress, both for the child who may be frightened by attending hospital and the family who may struggle with travelling there.

There are 7 nurses in the Paediatric Continence team covering 3 clinics and a number of home visits each day so the old scanner they have is not sufficient for the service. We have been able to provide a new Portable Ultrasound Bladder Scanner which will benefit over 600 children each year.