Heartbeat: Nurse scoops top award for work with incontinent patients

October 15, 2020

Congratulations to Kelly Stackhouse who leads our FINCH Service, delivering care and support to patients who have bowel dysfunction, regardless of cause, including patients who have undergone bowel surgery.

The lead nurse has scooped Continence Nurse of the Year in the prestigious British Journal of Nursing Awards. Kelly is recognised for devising a specialist treatment pathway for patients with faecal incontinence, constipation and those who have undergone an anterior resection – a surgical procedure to remove the diseased portion of the bowel and rectum.

Kelly set up the FINCH Service (Faecal Incontinence and Constipation Healthcare) 10 years ago, which offers intervention to all patients undergoing this nature of surgery providing support, advice, treatment and peer support.

Kelly said of the win: “I am so honoured to have received this prestigious award. It shows how important a service like this is, as it has provided invaluable support for patients who have had this nature of surgery and who also suffer from other bowel-related issues, improving their quality of life.

“This is a very unique pathway and other NHS Trusts are now beginning to adopt this as a result of the work we have been doing and the recognition it has received.

“I hope that this will provide a further platform to assist us in our mission to ‘break the taboo and talk poo’ which in turn will help more people who are suffering in silence.”

The service has received national attention. In March, Kelly and her team were the focus of the Radio 4 programme Inside Health interviewed by Trust Me I’m a Doctor presenter, Dr Saleyha Ahsan.

The programme is known for discussing health issues which people struggle to understand.