The National Continence Helpline is a free and confidential telephone advisory service staffed by a team of continence nurse advisors who provide information, education, local referrals and advice on bladder, bowel and pelvic floor topics.
In the 2017-2018 financial year, we responded to 27,623 enquiries to the National Continence Helpline.
- 89.1% were phone calls, 7.8% were website orders and 2.5% were email enquiries.
- 43.36% people rang the Helpline as a consumer, 35.08% sought advice for someone they care for and 20.08% were health professionals.
- The age of callers to the Helpline has risen, with an 8.11% increase in the number of callers aged 60-69 years and a 29% increase in the number of female consumers aged 70-79 years.
- The main reason for calling the NCHL was for management advice for incontinence. 33% of callers were asking for financial assistance.
- The Helpline satisfaction survey of consumers and carers had a 31% response rate and 93% of respondents selected that they were satisfied with the information and advice provided.
- 45% of consumer and carer respondents stated they visited a health professional after contacting the Helpline.