A GWENT AM has called for a treatment for bladder and bowel problems to be made available in Wales.

Speaking in the Senedd earlier this week South Wales East AM Mohammad Asghar said he was concerned patients had to travel to England to undergo sacral nerve stimulation – a therapy through which a chip is implanted along the spinal cord which sends electrical signals helping to rebuild muscle function, alleviating symptoms of incontinence and other bowel and bladder disorders.

Addressing health secretary Vaughan Gething the Conservative AM described the treatment as “life-changing” and called for a centre offering the procedure to be set up in Wales.

“I met a consultant only last week who said this very reasonable and cheap treatment is available in England, and in this country also, the professionals are here, to plant a very simple chip at the back of the body that controls the bladder, and which is a very simple way to give comfort to our senior citizens, especially as 90 per cent are ladies who suffer with this,” he said.

“What action will the cabinet secretary take to improve access to sacral nerve stimulation treatments for our dear old mothers and fathers, for a quality of life with bladder and bowel problems, to improve their quality of life in Wales?”

Mr Gething replied he shared concerns that the treatment was not available in Wales despite being approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, or NICE.

He added a task group was currently working on developing a way for the service to be more widely available in Wales.