What is it?

Sometimes, for various reasons, a person's bowel or ureter (the tube that transports urine from the kidney to the bladder) is surgically relocated to open onto the abdomen. The opening that is created is called a 'stoma', and is enclosed in a sealed bag system. A stoma is called a 'colostomy' if made from large bowel, an 'ileostomy' if made from small bowel, or an 'ileal conduit' if made from the ureter. Stomal therapy is the management of stomas.

Our stomal therapists and general nurses can help you by:

• Providing information before you have surgery;
• Providing nursing care before and after surgery; and
• Teaching you how to manage your stoma and how to obtain the most appropriate equipment.

Which staff can help?

We have several senior nurses, called Clinical Nurse Consultants, who are experts in stomal therapy. They are known as Stomal Therapists. These specialist nurses provide care individually or work alongside our general nurses to help manage your stoma.

How can I access this service?

To have one of our qualified staff assess you or a loved one's nursing and healthcare needs call us on
1300 33 44 55. This line operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.