The ACA, since its foundation in 1981, has widened the multi-disciplinary approach within its membership. In March 1997, of its 702 members, approximately 38% were Continence Advisors, 12% Nurse Advisors or Link Nurses, 8% Clinical Nurse Specialists and 8% Physiotherapists. Another 5% worked in hospitals, 10% were Managers, 1% Doctors, and 2% Lecturers. Forty-eight companies related to continence and incontinence were affiliate members and 31 members lived abroad.
Members continue to receive the ACA's quarterly Newsletter which includes updates from other organisations within the United Kingdom, i.e. the Continence Foundation, inconTact, PromoCon, and the Enuresis Resource and Information Centre (ERIC) as well as updates on continence information and education.
Our Annual Conference this year was held in Norwich, the cathedral city in Norfolk, East Anglia, where 200 delegates and 50 exhibitors attended a 3-day educational and social programme. The second International Conference is planned to take place in Edinburgh, Scotland from 20-23 April 1998. The ACA's conferences attract a wide spectrum of speakers, delegates and exhibitors and make an excellent forum for exchange of information and contacts throughout the world.
The ACA continues to have a Continence Supplement in the Nursing Times. This year we have been invited to produce a continence supplement for Nursing Care, the journal of the Community and District Nursing Association.
With an ever increasing number of people living in Nursing and Residential Homes the ACA is working towards guidelines for the education and training of staff and the Inspectorate.
A issue that has been of concern to our members this year is the financial sponsorship by commercial companies of health professionals, including nurses and physiotherapists. The ACA has been working with other organisations on the issue but because of the General Election we made little progress. This is now to be debated again.
Education is of paramount importance to members and the ACA is working with UK universities to provide a database of courses which include continence modules. The ACA is fortunate to have an education award to which members can apply for financial support for Degrees or Diplomas. This is named in memory of Dorothy Mandelstam, our first chairman from 1980 to 1990 who sadly died last December.
This year, the ACA was awarded a grant by the National Lottery Charities Board to fund a national survey of ACA members, to be completed by June 1998, to identify areas of best practice for patient and carer satisfaction.
Jo Laycock