Tena lady...can anyone get.them on prescription or subsidised?

[whatisforteamum]

My friend mentioned her dm needs these products since her stroke.The issue is more brain related urgency than bladder weakness.
The thing is they cost around 3 half grand a.year.
I said I would ask you wise mumsnetters for advice.I did see washable pads on one site.The lady in question is relatively young if this makes any difference to anything.
Thanks in advance.

You can get a referral to a continence team and this can result in a prescription for pads. But I don't think you get a choice of product, and I believe it allows for two pads a day only.

Boots and Morrisons are both cheaper than Tena

She needs to contact the local continence team for assessment and advice. Ask at your GP surgery how to get in touch.

My mum had a stroke 25 years ago and since then has struggled with incontinence. She had a referral to the bladder and bowel team and for a while received pads on prescription. However, for a couple of years now she has been buying them - I'm not sure whether she's 'dropped off the radar' or whether she wasn't being supplied enough pads so chose to just buy her own.

Anyway, your friend's mum should see her GP to discuss and ask for a referral - hopefully they will be able to help.

It won't usually be TENA but you can get pads (far more than 2 per day) on prescription if you've been assessed by the relevant services. We have a neighbour who gets huge deliveries of them on prescription from the pharmacy...

My Mil used to get tena lady pads delivered free, loads of them. It wasn't done through the continence team I think just through the district nurses,

Is there any suitable washable underwear? I've started wearing modibodi pants for my period and they have been a life changer. You get ones for incontinence too.

My mum has pads and they have been various makes over the years. At the moment they are tena but not like the little sanitary type ones you can buy in the supermarket. More like a babies nappy. Her allowance is 4 a day and she has 3 months supply delivered at a time so you need a place to store them. She also has a yellow bag collection each week to dispose of them once used so storage for the bag is needed as well.

The district nursing team can supply but a diagnosis is required

The specifics will vary from Trust to Trust, but for example in my local area, if someone is referred to the District Nursing team (or other appropriate team, for example if they meet the criteria for a Bladder & Bowel Service referral), they can be provided with continence products. This of course is depending on the results of assessment and whether those products are suitable for the individual.

In my local Trust (and I believe but am not completely sure in most if not all Trusts), pull up style pads are not available on the NHS. It's either wrap around 'adult nappy' style, or inserts which are like large and more shaped sanitary towels which sit inside net (or your own) knickers. There will also be a limit - again in my local area it's 3 per 24 hour period.

Many of my patients who meet the criteria and are provided with the NHS (not Tena brand in our case), supplement this with buying their own. It's not ideal, but does reduce the costs to the individual somewhat.

Most of our (DN) referrals come to us through the GPs. In our case, it's not possible to self-refer, so I would say start at the GP.

Did your Dm get reffered for these dontsweat?

Yes my mum was has ms and was referred by her ms nurse.

Amazing thanks for the advice everyone.I will pass the info on 😊

My mum was given them free of charge but they were big, bulky, awful things. As a result, she removed them at every opportunity. We gave up with them and bought Boots pull ups which were close enough to ordinary knickers to fool her. I don’t think we spent anywhere close to £3.5 a year! In fact, having just checked, they’re £51 for 96.

Sometimes the district nurse can do the continence assessment too

Incontinence care is a postcode lottery and will depend which ccg the patient is under.
If you ring your gp and ask for a continence referral they will direct you to the right service for the area. In my professional experience the number of pads allocated per day has reduced across many ccgs.
Some ccgs will supply washable pads others disposable and some can supply a mixture.
Also in the interim don't buy tena there expensive - go to a large pharmacy, disability centre or look online for bulk buying of pads (often you can get samples to try out first).

You can get a referral to a continence team and this can result in a prescription for pads. But I don't think you get a choice of product, and I believe it allows for two pads a day only.

Two a DAY? I'd had 4 wees by 10 am this morning.I'd never manage with 2 pads a day, I'd be wearing them sopping wet. (In fairness, I do drink an awful lot of tea).

People are correct. The allocation for the NHS is two a day unless you are doubly incontinent. So most people end up buying their own. Boots is fairly cheap, Aldi do them but in limited sizes, Tena are good but very expensive. It's easy to go through a packet a day for £8-12 with someone who is incontinent. If you also buy coverings (kylies) for beds, these are not free at all and cost £12-15 a packet, again which last a few days. It is easy to spend a couple of hundred pounds of your own money a month if you heavily incontinent. I feel very sorry for people who are quite poor and cannot afford this, because they have to stick to two a day or try and wash stuff (which bumps up the electric). Care standards are really quite poor in the UK, due to reasons like this.

Have a look on line - we used the Complete Care shop for my mum but there will be others too. Bought a few different small packets to see which she preferred and fit best and then had them delivered in bulk which proved cost effective. They do a range of different pads and pull ups in absorbancies which was helpful as her condition progressed. We also bought washable 'kylie' sheets for the bed which were great and saved full bedding changes.

Two a DAY? I'd had 4 wees by 10 am this morning.I'd never manage with 2 pads a day, I'd be wearing them sopping wet. That's probably why some elders take to drying them over radiators.

Suze1621 I also used Complete Care online and they are great and the bulk buys worth it compared with local disability shops. However, the plain fact is that for many poorer people, these products are very expensive. You are more likely to smell, or get broken skin or just feel awful if you are not changing them often enough- and what about people who rely on carers to change them and only come in twice a day? There must be so much everyday neglect, it's awful.