19th April 2026
Meeting report by Hilary
We met at Feering, near Colchester in Essex on 19th April 2026 for our Spring meeting. We were delighted to welcome five new people as well as old friends. There were 19 of us from across the region, chatting over tea, coffee and biscuits and listening to our speaker, Alex from Coloplast.
Coloplast is a company which offers continence solutions for both bladder and bowel issues. These are problems we can feel hesitant to ask for support with so it was helpful to be given information and shown some of the products which are available from Coloplast. As well as creating solutions, the company also includes Coloplast Charter which delivers products to people’s homes.
Alex advised that our first port of call if we experience difficulties in these areas is our GP because they will have to prescribe any products we need and can refer us to other services such as the bladder and bowel nurses or a urologist as necessary. Without the referral from a healthcare professional, Coloplast will be unable to provide free samples of products unless we are already using similar items.
For urinary issues such as urgency or leakage, there are various options although, unavoidably, these are more limited for women than for men. Pads and continence pants are a possibility for both but, for those wishing to avoid them, there are some alternatives.
For men, Coloplast provides the Conveen device which collects urine and transfers it to a bag worn on the leg which can be emptied later. Discover more at https://www.coloplast.co.uk/bladder-and-bowel/male-incontinence/
For women or men, an indwelling catheter (or, sometimes, a suprapubic catheter) may be an option; again, the urine is collected in a leg bag until it can be emptied.
Coloplast provides the necessary accessories such as leg bags of various capacities and night bags which can hold 2 or 3 litres. The leg bags can be attached to the leg with either straps or a sleeve and a stand is provided for the night bag. Both long and short tube lengths are available in the leg bags to accommodate individual preferences. Coloplast uses an anti-kink design in the tubes to promote draining into the bags.
If retention of urine in the bladder is an issue, for women and men, intermittent self-catheterisation can enable the bladder to be fully emptied. This can reduce the risk of urinary tract infections which can be caused by retention. Discover more at https://products.coloplast.co.uk/products/continence-care/?currentPage=1&facetStrings=ProductPrimaryCategory:Intermittent%20catheters%20and%20accessories
Some people with HSP can experience problems with the bowels, such as constipation or leakage. Coloplast offer bowel irrigation devices which introduce water into the bowel to stimulate a bowel movement and they will soon have anal plugs available to prevent leakage. Discover more at https://products.coloplast.co.uk/products/continence-care/?currentPage=1&facetStrings=ProductPrimaryCategory:Bowel%20Management%20products
Coloplast can also offer stoma care products.
Coloplast Charter is the part of the company which can supply products direct to people at home. When new supplies are needed, they can be ordered from Coloplast Charter and a prescription for the items will be requested by the company from the patient’s GP. Once this is received, the goods will be despatched by courier and the patient kept informed of the progress of the order. Delivery is usually within 5 – 7 days of the order being placed. Complimentary disposal bags, dry wipes and wet wipes are delivered with the order.
Other supply and delivery companies are available in this field and nurses in the community will be able to advise on this.
We shall be meeting at Feering, near Colchester in Essex in the Autumn and will publicise the date on the website as usual.