• Improve the quality of life for people who suffer from incontinence.
• Raise public awareness, education and provide information about incontinence.
• Provide a comprehensive integrated approach to the prevention, treatment and management of incontinence.
• Ensure adequate resources are targeted at continence services and better value for money is achieved from resources allocated to incontinence.
• Coordinate the efforts of different organisations and other individuals interested in and affected by incontinence.
  

The initial aim of the group was to formulate national guidelines in continence care and whilst this has been done in conjunction with the Department of Health, the ongoing challenges remain to raise public and indeed political awareness of incontinence. Whilst the original remit focused on female incontinence, the hope will be to extend the remit to both male and childhood incontinence, both urinary and faecal.

Having established itself as the main body responsible for continence care in Ireland, the foundation’s annual study days are well attended and have attracted numerous international experts. In addition to medical personnel, the delegates include a high number of nurse specialists, continence nurses and physiotherapists.

The greatest achievement for the CFI was the awarding to Dublin by the International Urogynaecology Association for its annual meeting in 2013. This meeting will attract over 2,000 delegates from around the globe for four and a half days of workshops and symposia on the subject of prolapse and incontinence. The meeting will be held in the Convention Centre from May 28^th to June 1^st 2013. We do hope you can make it.

Dr. Declan Keane

Chairman of CFI