Nottinghamshire woman asked to prove incontinence Published duration 28 March 2011

A son whose mother had to take soiled incontinence pads to the doctor to prove she needed them, said the practice was degrading to patients.

Ivan Braddow, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire said his mother was left devastated by the request.

Edith Braddow, 77, was asked to bring the pads for a review to see if she still needed them to be prescribed or if she should pay for them.

Nottinghamshire Community Health said it was happy to address concerns.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: "A review of the continence service took place during 2010 and changes made have been to ensure patients receive optimum clinical care.

"The aim of the continence service is always to return patients to continence wherever possible.

"Pads are only prescribed for those patients with moderate to severe incontinence.

"To promote patient dignity a home delivery service has recently been introduced to streamline the provision of products prescribed to patients/clients, removing costs incurred for storage and administration in local health centres."

Mr Braddow, who is his mother's full-time carer, said he was left speechless when his mother was asked to carry out the task.

"At her last assessment, she was told she had to start bringing the pads in, soiled, so they could be weighed.

"At the time, we were told there was a product change and the pads needed to be weighed to see how absorbent they were," he said.

"Mum didn't want to make a scene but was quite devastated when she got back home."

Mrs Braddow was told in January she no longer qualified for free pads but her case will be reviewed again in April.