Problem with pads: a family in despair after NHS decision

A Devon family has revealed one of the hidden cuts to NHS prescriptions - children's continence products or pull ups for children with learning disabilities.

The parents of 13-year-old Mathew Harvey, from Tavistock, say they have been told to put him back into wet pads if it is not full enough, as they are only allocated four a day. They describe it as inhumane.

Mathew has a complex learning disability which means he is not fully toilet trained. It is now a daily occurrence for him to arrive home from his special school - a trip of an hour and a half - with a bag of wet clothes.

Last year his parents were told that Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust would be changing his prescription of continence pads, from pull ups to large pads. But not only that, Mathew would be receiving less than before and would only be getting four of them a day.

Mathew's school requests four of the pads for him every day - that's his entire daily allowance, but his dad Lyndon says he was told by the NHS that if the pads aren't "full" then they should put Mathew back in them.

The Trust says it assesses each child "thoroughly to determine the best products for their clinical needs".