Ministers were today told to install sanitary bins in men’s public toilets to stop tens of thousands of them suffering in silence.
About one in three men over the age of 65 in the UK suffer from urinary incontinence.
But under current laws, only female employees are required to provide sanitary bins in the workplace where they can dispose of used tampons and sanitary towels.
They can also be seen in most public toilets for women, but there is no such facility for men.
Campaign group Boys Need Bins, backed by Prostate Cancer UK, wants this to change.
Businesses and public buildings in Worcestershire started installing these bins this week, after a patient wrote to organizations across the county. Ian Smith (pictured), 64, the patient who advocated for the change, was diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer in 2022
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It comes as businesses and public buildings in Worcestershire started installing these bins this week, after a patient wrote to organizations across the county.
Ian Smith, 64, the patient who advocated for the change, was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2022.
Although he had been undergoing regular prostate-specific antigen tests to check for the disease, which affects around one in eight men at some point in their lives, this was disrupted by Covid.
By the time his cancer was diagnosed, it had spread to his rectum and is now incurable.
After radiotherapy and hormone treatment, he now suffers from bowel incontinence and has to wear adult diapers.
He told the BBC: ‘My treatment has caused damage to my intestines and rectum and has made me incontinent at times.
“What I’m wearing are full diaper pants… This is a real problem if you want to get rid of them, and that’s what the Boys Need Bins campaign is all about.
“Dudes being what they are, they don’t talk about it… and so most venue owners don’t know it’s a problem.”
According to Prostate Cancer UK, one in twenty men aged 60 and over will suffer from bowel incontinence.
And the shame and panic surrounding the issue could leave them living less fulfilling lives, the charity warned.
The charity says more than a third of men with incontinence will not leave the house due to leaks and problems disposing of sanitary towels and nappies – which can cost between 50p and £1 each – increasing the risk of social isolation .
The research also shows that a similar number continue to wear dirty sanitary towels, rather than finding somewhere to get rid of them.
‘It’s a much bigger problem than people often realize,’ says Nick Ridgman, head of health information and clinical support at Prostate Cancer UK.
‘Hundreds of thousands of men suffer from incontinence. But what we don’t have for these men is the kind of facilities that we do have in terms of ladies’ toilets.’
Last year, the island of Jersey passed a law requiring sanitary bins in all public men’s toilets, and Winchester Council in Hampshire voluntarily installed them in the men’s toilets.
In the meantime, hygiene specialist PHS Group has already installed them in all approximately sixty motorway service stations of the Moto group.
On average, more than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK, making it the most common form of cancer in men. About 12,000 men die from the disease every year – the equivalent of one man every 45 minutes
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Last summer, the Minister for Women, Maria Caulfield MP, said the Government was also looking into the issue.
A spokesperson for the government watchdog, the Health and Safety Executive, said it is currently reviewing regulations and guidance relating to the provision of drainage facilities in workplace toilets to ensure they meet the needs of both women and men.
Approximately 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.
But 9,000 men a year are diagnosed once the disease has already spread, making it the most common cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer.
The risk of prostate cancer increases with age, with most cases diagnosed in men aged 50 or over, the NHS says.
Symptoms include needing to urinate more often, waiting longer to urinate, erectile dysfunction, blood in the urine, weight loss, or new and unexplained lower back pain.
Celebrities diagnosed with prostate cancer include Stephen Fry, who said he was ‘stunned’ when he discovered he had the disease in 2018.
In 2022, musician Jools Holland revealed that he had been successfully treated for prostate cancer after a diagnosis in 2014.
In August, Prostate Cancer UK also announced that referrals for the disease have reached a record high in the past year – up 17 percent – thanks to the ‘Bill Turnbull’ effect.
They said they believe the death of the ambassador and TV presenter encouraged men to get tested.