MPs and peers have joined forces to call on the government to take action on continence services and put patients at the heart of care.

Former Health Secretary Baroness Virginia Bottomley and MPs Feryal Clark, Navendu Mishra , Rachel Hopkins and Steve McCabe were among those signing a pledge to support person-centred care at the Urology Trade Association and the Urology Foundation’s annual parliamentary reception.

Mishra spoke to attendees about the challenges a constituent faced in accessing continence services, with the wait for an assessment by NHS continence services in Stockport standing at 31 weeks.

It is estimated that 14 million people in the UK have some degree of urinary incontinence. A government consultation on major changes to the Drug Tariff (the list of all products available on prescription) may restrict the range of urology products available.

MPs and peers are calling on the government to ensure that continence care is prioritised, and that any changes to the way medical products are prescribed do not deny patients access to the clinically most appropriate product for them or restrict clinicians’ freedom to prescribe the full range of products available. 

Chris Whitehouse, The Urology Trade Association chair, said: “The patient should be at the heart of all decisions taken about their treatment, but for too long that hasn’t happened in the continence sector. We’re grateful to all the MPs and Peers who have…pledged their support to deliver a paradigm shift for those living with the huge challenges of incontinence.”