Founded 2005 (2005) Area served United Kingdom | Type Charity | |
Focus Patient support, advocacy, information, health Headquarters Reading, United Kingdom Mission To enable everyone affected by stoma surgery to live life to their full potential | ||
The Colostomy Association is a British health charity formed in 2005 to replace the British Colostomy Association. Its goal is to represent the interests of people with a colostomy through providing support, information and advice as well as raising public awareness of life with stoma.
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History
The predecessor of the Colostomy Association was the Colostomy Welfare Group, formed in 1967 following a pilot survey to find out if there was need for a national service for colostomates in the United Kingdom. The Colostomy Welfare Group was later rebranded in 1989 as the 'British Colostomy Association' and in the following year moved its headquarters to Reading, Berkshire.
Following the withdrawal of financial support from Macmillan Cancer Relief in 2004 new trustees were sought and the British Colostomy Association is replaced by the Colostomy Association - an entirely self-funded charity.
Services
The Colostomy Association provides a number of services to fulfill its role of representing the interests of people with a colostomy. Most notably, it runs a confidential helpline that runs 24/7 where members of the public can call for advice, support or information.
Additionally, The Colostomy Association has over 100 trained contact volunteers of all which are colostomates. They provide emotional support by speaking to patients before and after surgery as well as providing home visits for stoma patients.
The Colostomy Association also produces a range of advisory literature written by colostomates and nursing professionals of all which is available freely on request. Its quarterly magazine, 'Tidings', is written specifically for the ostomate community and currently has a readership of approximately 20,000 people. In 2015, the Colostomy Association launched a new international initiative, Stoma Aid, to ship unused and surplus ostomy supplies from the UK to people in developing countries who cannot afford or access stoma appliances.