Are you a healthcare professional working in the area of continence or urology, or is continence management a large proportion of your workload? If yes, have you heard of the Association for Continence Advice (ACA) and have you thought of becoming a member?
The ACA is a multi-professional association open to all health and allied care professionals who are working within, or have an interest in the field of bladder and bowel management.
The ACA started in 1980 with a questionnaire sent to every health authority and board in the UK seeking to identify concerned healthcare professionals. At that time, there were only 19 nurses in the UK identified as continence advisors; now most NHS trusts and many private healthcare organisations have staff designated as continence specialists. As continence care has changed, so too has the complexity of members’ backgrounds; with physiotherapists, occupational therapists, midwives, hospital, general practice and district nurses, health visitors, lecturers, researchers, NHS managers, healthcare assistants, nursing homes and doctors increasingly represented alongside the central core of continence specialists.
Not everything is always as it seems and there are many instances where professional help from your peers will give you exactly what you need.
The ACA, through its strong multi-professional membership, its local branches, national and regional conferences and study days, will be an asset to you. Whether you are a continence advisor for your area, or someone working in your chosen area with an interest in continence, the ACA could well be for you.
The ACA is a multi-professional association open to all health and allied care professionals who are working within, or have an interest in the field of bladder and bowel management.
The ACA started in 1980 with a questionnaire sent to every health authority and board in the UK seeking to identify concerned healthcare professionals. At that time, there were only 19 nurses in the UK identified as continence advisors; now most NHS trusts and many private healthcare organisations have staff designated as continence specialists. As continence care has changed, so too has the complexity of members’ backgrounds; with physiotherapists, occupational therapists, midwives, hospital, general practice and district nurses, health visitors, lecturers, researchers, NHS managers, healthcare assistants, nursing homes and doctors increasingly represented alongside the central core of continence specialists.
Not everything is always as it seems and there are many instances where professional help from your peers will give you exactly what you need.
The ACA, through its strong multi-professional membership, its local branches, national and regional conferences and study days, will be an asset to you. Whether you are a continence advisor for your area, or someone working in your chosen area with an interest in continence, the ACA could well be for you.
'The ACA is a multiprofessional association open to all health and allied professionals who are working within, or have an interest in the field of bladder and bowel management. It works to promote safe, high quality continence services that reflect UK-wide policy developments.'
The key objectives that the ACA work towards are:
- Representing the interests of the multi-professional membership by communicating effectively, for example, through its newsletters and website
- Leading educational activity and supporting research development within the organisation
- Initiating projects and engaging with internal or external groups, organisations or companies; and likewise, contributing to projects that aim to maximise evidence-based continence care
- Influencing UK-wide clinical, professional and political developments in the field of continence care policy. The ACA have representation on the following national groups; NHS England Excellence in Commissioning Continence Care (EICC), All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), Expert LUTs Group, Paediatric Continence Form (PCF), Nursing Times, Scottish NES modules
- Promoting safe, high quality continence services that reflect UK-wide policy developments.
Patrica McDermott, chair, Association for Continence Advice (ACA)
If you are interested in joining the ACA now, the first six months’ membership are free, simply go to our Join Us page: www.aca.uk.com/about-aca. Or if you would like to attend the ACA’s annual conference, details can be found at: www.aca.uk.com/about-aca.
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