Development, implementation and evaluation of a new nurse-led continence service : a pilot study

• The Leicestershire Medical Research Council (MRC) Incontinence Study is a series of interrelated studies exploring the epidemiology of urinary symptoms, including incontinence, and evaluating service provision and treatment options for these symptoms. • This paper describes one aspect of the Leicestershire MRC Incontinence Study, namely the development, implementation and evaluation of a new nurse-led continence service. • When developing a new service it is important to determine its acceptability and suitability to the target population. • The new mode of service delivery was dependent on specially trained Continence Nurse Practitioners (CNP) delivering predefined evidence-based treatment interventions. • Objective and subjective outcome measures were used to evaluate the service. • The service was shown to be effective in reducing urinary symptoms and led to high levels of patient satisfaction. • This service is currently being evaluated in a randomized controlled trial.