Stoma awareness is not just about educating the public about a medical procedure, it’s also about educating them that this is one of the many invisible disabilities our patients have to manage every day in their daily lives.

The Nursing team Eva Woods and Elaine Webb were joined by patient partners Dave Lacey and Kevin Reynolds today to meet staff, our patients and public to share some important messages about stomas.

People may have stomas for many reasons, for example for benign conditions like ulcerative colitis, trauma, incontinence  or for cancers of the bladder or bowel. They shouldn’t however be seen as a barrier to living a normal life. Ostomates (people with stomas) can still travel the world, swim, run marathons, have children and partake in normal sports and activities.

A stoma is often termed an invisible disability but this does not mean it is insignificant. On the outside, a person with a stoma might look perfectly healthy, which can lead to judgment or a lack of understanding when they use accessible facilities or need accommodation. Also because stomas involve bodily waste it can make open conversations difficult.

I had the pleasure of meeting David Lacey last week and he shared his story of being an ostomate with me. Dave had a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis for 5 years before he had to have surgery for it and also had an unexpected finding of an early cancer during this treatment. He had some understanding of stomas beforehand as a family member and having a stoma now himself meant gaining a new perspective on navigating life with a stoma.

He shared his experience with me and gave me a practical demonstration of the newly redesigned disability bathroom in Beaumont Hospital. It gave me a real understanding of why there is a need for bathrooms to be correctly fitted out for stoma patients. This Stoma awareness event, apart form educating people about stomas, is also a call to action for better disability bathroom facilities everywhere in public buildings. They currently rarely feature the shelf space, correct sinks and wall hooks needed to change a pouch safely and hygienically.

We were also joined today by Sinead Lucey Brennan who works with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Organisation. This organisation supports individuals living with invisible diasabilities. We talked about the sunflower lanyard (there is also a sunflower pin and wristband) which is internationaly recognised and is pan disability, including for wheelchair users. Wearing it allows the wearer living with disability the extra time, patience and suport they need to navigate public spaces and situations. An example of this is in airports which has many transition points that cause difficulties for patients with hidden disabilities.