Meet the team

Stephen Miles - Clinical Nurse Specialist - Continence Service Manager Dorset Healthcare University Foundation Trust

Chair RCN Continence Care Forum Committee

Previously a farmer for twenty one years who had a career change back in the early 90s into Nursing. A few years spent in the Royal County Hospital Winchester, followed by Community Nursing then as a District Nurse, moved into 'Continence' in 2003. For a number of years held a post of Academic Practitioner at Southampton University.

Stephen is committed to sharing and promoting good practice and spreading the message loud and clear that continence promotion is worthwhile and not to just 'treat' with pads. He is happy to help others in any way for them to achieve their own aims and objectives.

Alison Bardsley

Liz Bonner

I have been a Continence Advisor since 1994 covering an adult and paediatric caseload and a member of the RCN continence forum for the last four years which has involved conference planning, commenting on the drug tariif white paper.

I have also had the opportunity on behalf of the RCN continence forum, to help develop The cost -effective Commissioning for Continence Care Guideline which was launched by the All party Political Group chaired by Baroness Greengross. This document will ensure that future commissioners will have at their finger tips information to commission integrated adult and paediatric continence services.

I believe the next steps for RCN bladder bowel service developments is to work in partnership with other national organisations to develop

Quality Outcome Framework (QOF) which will involve Lobbying to include the trigger question "have you a bladder or bowel problem?"

Quality, nursing metrics. Patient Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMS) As nurses it is essential to lobby to use the Continence Essence of Care (DOH 2010) as a basis for developing quality outcomes.

Anthony Brooks

Katherine Wilkinson - RN, DN, MA, FAETC, Independent & Supplementary Nurse Prescriber

Katherine joined the continence service at Airedale PCT, Yorkshire 18 years ago from a district nursing background. She is now a Nurse Consultant / Continence Service Manager leading a team of 10 staff in the Bradford and Airedale teaching PCT. The continence team in Bradford and Airedale have received several awards for their innovative work.

Katherine gained a Masters Degree in Independent Practice (Nursing) with merit at the University of Leeds in 1999.

She served a three year term of office as a member of the Association for Continence Advice executive committee from 2001 – 2004, taking the lead on education. In 2004 she became a member of the Royal College of Nurses Continence Forum Steering Committee, was the Chairperson for four years, and is currently a committee member.

Katherine is passionate about continence care and has vast experience in this field including:

Developing an e – learning module on urinary catheter care
A competency framework for health care assistants on urinary catheterisation
Providing education on continence care for health and social care staff
The assessment and management of individuals with bladder dysfunction
Developing a primary care pathway for women with urinary incontinence
Audit of continence services
User involvement
Independent Nurse prescribing for continence care
Nurse led management of overactive bladder
Promoting continence to ethnic minority groups

Katherine has presented her work at national and international conferences on continence care and has had many journal articles published. Katherine is married with 3 teenage children, two ponies and three chickens and lives in West Yorkshire.

Ronalda Agnew

I have been an RCN activist and was the RCN lead Steward, primary care, NHSS Greater Glasgow up until 2006. I was seconded to the post as Assistant officer before being seconded to the role as RCN Primary Care Advisor, Scotland prior to commencing my PhD in December 2007. My PhD explored nursing practice in continence care in patients with urinary incontinence following a stroke.

I am at present employed by Dr Cara Tannenbaum, Montreal University as a Post Doctorate Research Fellow.

The current RCT study is a collaborative effort with the TACT3 project team in Brunel University, London. The main aim of this study is to disseminate 2 new continence promotion methods and to test their effectiveness. One of the primary outcomes is to encourage incontinent community-dwelling senior women to seek appropriate care.

Although my background has been mainly urinary/bladder I am keen, enthusiastic and passionate about viewing both bladder and bowel health as something which requires proactive assessment and diagonosis so that it can be treated and cured where possible.