By The Clinical Team, MacGregor Healthcare
Another fantastic conference attended by the MacGregor Healthcare Team – a huge thank you to The Pelvic Floor Society (TPFS) for having us. The conference, held in Leicester this year, started with an Allied Health Professional (AHP) study day prior to the scientific presentations of the TPFS conference
This event really does get better and better each year – filled with fantastic presentations and a great range of exhibitors.
We wanted to highlight a few of the things we learned while attending (it was very hard to narrow it down!):
Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) with Emily Hoile
It was great to see Emily Hoile (Physiotherapist) keeping LARS on the radar. There is nothing like a case study to really showcase the importance of individualised management options.
We know that LARS responds well to the use of rectal irrigation but sometimes initiating this with the patient can feel overwhelming, especially if the HCP is new to irrigation. Emily explained how the decision guide enabled her to choose the right product for her patient. For more information on the decision guide click here.
Sexual Wellbeing and Bowel Dysfunction
It was interesting to hear how this topic is often overlooked in relation to pelvic floor/bowel assessments, despite research identifying the negative impact that bowel symptoms have on sexual wellbeing. This impact can be highlighted readily using a Quality of Life (QoL) questionnaire. Asking a few simple questions can lead to a wider discussion about sexual wellbeing.
Many of the HCPs in this session felt that a lack of confidence in ‘knowing what to do’ held them back about broaching this topic. We cannot always know how to treat a patient in their entirety but are ideally placed to signpost patients to other sources of help. Being honest, open, and listening alone can make patients feel supported.
A key theme from the sessions was that if we don’t ask the questions, we won’t get the answers.
Meeting with the Liverpool Women’s Hospital Team
This year, the pelvic floor team from the Liverpool Women’s Hospital attended the AHP Study Day. They had a fantastic day with lots of learning on a range of topics. Here are the key messages which stood out for them:
- “Not to be afraid to start conversations.”
- “To work with all of our colleagues, our AHP’s and multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) to ensure the best care for women.”
- “Looking into multi-disciplinary care.”
- “Opening up conversations with our team members and patients.”
- “Treat the patient, not the diagnosis.”
Some real great takeaways here that had us all thinking, and I’m sure you are too. We want to say thank you to the lovely ladies from Liverpool Women’s Hospital for taking time out to have a quick chat with us.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) in Pelvic Floor Services
This session presented the research and statistics around EDI and how Black, Asian, Minorities Ethnic (BAME) groups are significantly less likely to present to their GPs with their bowel symptoms. Therefore, these patients are less likely to receive treatment and support in specialist colorectal /pelvic floor clinics.
Ann and Tatenda chat about these issues within their services below.
What discussions were we having?
We spoke with our Clinical Director, Sue Frost, to hear what kinds of things people seemed to be asking our team during the exhibition.
To finish – we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all who made it such a great conference and to the many of you that visited the MacGregor Healthcare stand and showed such a huge interest in the Qufora range of products.
