29th Apr 2025

Nottinghamshire and Nottingham Children’s Continence Services

Working with young people around continence issues.

Nottinghamshire Children and Young People Continence Provision

The Nottinghamshire CYP Continence Team is a small group of specialist nurses and support staff. They work with families when a child has a level one bladder or bowel problem. The team is part of the Healthy Family Team service.

Who the service is for

Referrals are accepted for:

  • Children aged 5 to 19 who have bladder or bowel problems and have not improved with toilet training
  • Children aged 4 and over who have a condition or diagnosis that causes developmental delay

Referrals can be made, with parent or carer consent, by:

  • Parents or carers
  • Young people
  • GPs
  • Schools
  • Healthy Family Teams
  • Family Hubs
  • Paediatricians
  • Social care

 What the service offers

Parents and carers are first invited to an online workshop. The workshop gives advice and strategies to try at home. Families are asked to try these strategies for one month. If things do not improve, they can contact the Continence Team again.

After this:

An assessment will be arranged. If the team can help, a care programme will be offered for up to three months. This may include loaning an enuresis alarm or prescribing medication, if needed.

Continence products

Children aged 4 and over with additional needs may be offered continence products. A review will take place every 6 to 12 months to check if the products are still right for them.

If more help is needed

If there is no progress by the end of the programme and the family has taken part fully, the team will ask the GP to refer the child to specialist services.

How to make a referral

You can make a referral by filling in our online referral form. Please use this link:

Continence Referral Form

Parents, carers, young people and professionals can all use this form. Please make sure you have consent from a parent or carer before sending a referral.

 

Nottingham Children’s Public Health 0-19 Nursing Service

The team is made up of Health Visitors, Family Nurses, and School Nurses who have had specialist training in working with children to assess and support their health and development needs. We also have registered nurses and skilled support staff who can help you with your child’s development and healthy lifestyles.

We can provide support and information on the following topics:

  • Growth and Development
  • Speech and Language
  • Toilet Training and Continence
  • Behaviour and Parenting
  •  Sleep

You can ring and speak to a nurse about your child’s health and development on:

0300 300 0040 (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm)

You can ring this number for health advice for your baby and child (up to the age of 19) living in Nottingham. You can also ring this number to cancel appointments and ask for them to be rearranged, to book clinic appointments and book to attend our feeding support groups.

TextHealth Messaging Service

Text a Public Health Nurse your questions on our confidential text service:

For Parents and Caregivers – Text 07480 635002

For 11-19 year olds – Text 07480 635024

Or you can start a text chat on www.chathealth.nhs.uk

 

TAKE THE QUIZ:

true or false
Everyone will laugh if I tell them about my problems with poo
TRUE FALSE
Incorrect. 1 in 100 teenagers have constipation, so you’re not alone. Two great sources of support are your school nurse and the ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence) who have an excellent website about the subject.
1 in 100 teenagers have constipation, so you’re not alone. Two great sources of support are your school nurse and the ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence) website.
true or false
I'm the only person my age who still wets the bed
TRUE FALSE
Wetting the bed affects around half a million children and teenagers in the UK, so there’s a good chance there’s more than one person in every year group at school affected.
Don't worry, you're not on your own! Wetting the bed affects around half a million children and teenagers in the UK, so there’s a good chance there’s more than one person in every year group at school affected.
true or false
There is nothing that can help, I’m going to be stuck like this forever
TRUE FALSE
Incorrect. There's lots of support and help available - talk to your GP or school nurse if you haven't already.
If you haven't already, talk to your GP or school - there's lot of support available