Urogynaecology staff achieve prestigious accreditation

The hard work and commitment of our urogynaecology staff has been recognised with the department receiving formal recognition from the British Society of Urogynaecology.

The Urogynaecology Unit, based in Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, is one of only 18 units to have achieved this accreditation.

The purpose of the accreditation is to define and monitor standards of care, organisation and quality within urogynaecology units.

Staff in the unit currently see and treat more than 1,500 patients each year, for conditions such as vaginal prolapse, urinary and faecal incontinence and they carry out over 400 surgical procedures every year.

Miss Anu Dua, Consultant Urogynaecologist, said: “We feel very proud as a unit to be recognised by the British Society of Urogynaecology for the standards of care we deliver to our patients.

“The whole team has worked incredibly hard to ensure we have the systems in place to not only achieve this accreditation but to also improve our services further for our patients. As a result of this, we are seeing fewer complaints and our patients are happier with the care we are providing them.

“In addition to us being one of only 18 units to be recognised and accreditated, we are also one of the few sub-specialist training centres in the country. We are approved by the Royal college of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the General Medical Council (GMC) to provide a highly advanced training fellowship in urogynaecology.”

Support group success

Last year, the urogynaecology team, along with staff from the colorectal team, launched a support group for people with bladder and bowel problems. As part of this, the teams have worked together closely to hold Bladder and Bowel Events (BABE) in Plymouth.

Each event has included talks from different speakers, advice and support, as well as opportunities to ‘meet the specialists’. The team have had really positive feedback from the events and are now in the process of planning their fourth event, to be held on Saturday 10 September.

Miss Dua, added: “Most of our work is to improve the quality of life for our patients. It is about providing them with the right advice and support to enable them to manage issues caused by their conditions but to also alleviate symptoms which might be causing them significant upset.”