Know Your Floors is a not-for-profit enterprise which raises awareness and provide education around pelvic floor health.
Suzanne Vernazza is a pelvic health physiotherapist at Newcastle Hospitals believes there is a ‘hidden pandemic’ of patients with pelvic floor issues.
Statistics show that:
– One in three women will gave a pelvic floor issue in their life
– One in ten men will have an incontinence issue over the age of 50
– To date, it is estimated that over 7 million people in the UK have urinary incontinence (5-10% of the population. The fact that many don’t see a doctor means that this could be higher (Incontinence UK).
However, despite the prevalence in the population, many people are embarrassed about the problem and hold off seeking help. Others have felt that the problem is ‘normal’; for example after child birth, and simply live with it.
Perinatal education provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness and preven pelvic floor issues especially in younger generations and Covid-19 had a real impact on the delivery of this education.
Suzanne launched Know your Floors in 2021 to help reduce some of the myths, open up discussion to make pelvic health less ‘taboo’ and engage people in pelvic floor exercises.
Over the last year Suzanne has been doing a pelvic floor ‘squeeze along’ on TikTok and social media to help to open conversations and remind people to do their exercises.
They have been really successful with over half a million followers engaged on TikTok who are mainly in 18-34 age bracket. She also uses the squeeze along to encourage her patients to do their exercises, known as ‘Kegels’.
How we helped
Suzanne contacted the region’s Academic Health Science Network who put her in touch with Charlotte Fox our innovation lead in the commercial enterprise team at Newcastle Hospitals.
We advised and supported Suzanne to apply for a place on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Program for support to develop an app for the squeeze along incorporating the education model.
We have also helped with some stakeholder mapping and brokering and facilitating conversations with key people who can support the development of the app. We have connected Suzanne to digital healthcare companies that provide a range of tools and programmes to support and manage NHS patients with a range of conditions.
Outcome
Suzanne was successful in her application and won a place on the CEP, the largest entrepreneurial workforce development programme of its kind, run by NHS England’s Innovation, Research and Life Sciences group and delivered jointly with Anglia Ruskin University.
She also plans to launch e-learning training for GPs, primary care professionals and midwives to improve post-natal care.
Testimonial
“I’m excited and a little daunted to have a place on the clinical entrepreneur programme. It’s fantastic news for the project and I’m looking forward to getting started on developing my ideas to help more patients to have good pelvic floor health.
“I’m grateful for the support I’ve had from Charlotte, her experience and expertise in innovation have been invaluable in nurturing and growing my plans and connecting me to some of the key people who can help develop and grow my idea to make it a reality.”
