Life

Security staff at Belfast airport trained on helping passengers with stomas

Harry Monahan and Lorna Brown from Belfast International Airport worked with Respond Healthcare’s Helen Coulter and Jenny Arlow to help train airport security staff to develop an empathetic approach to helping passengers with stomas
Harry Monahan and Lorna Brown from Belfast International Airport worked with Respond Healthcare’s Helen Coulter and Jenny Arlow to help train airport security staff to develop an empathetic approach to helping passengers with stomas Harry Monahan and Lorna Brown from Belfast International Airport worked with Respond Healthcare’s Helen Coulter and Jenny Arlow to help train airport security staff to develop an empathetic approach to helping passengers with stomas

FLYING with a stoma can be daunting. But thanks to specialist training having been carried out with security staff at Belfast International Airport, people flying with stomas can now travel with less stress.

A stoma is an opening made on the abdomen through which bodily waste can pass into a stoma bag. It may be required for a variety of reasons, including colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases and other acute or chronic bowel disorders.

In Northern Ireland there are approximately 10,000 people living with stomas at any one time, with around 1,000 new cases every year spread across all of the healthcare trusts.

“People living with stomas have a lot of concerns when they are travelling including being publically searched, security staff pulling out their essential medical supplies in view of other passengers, being made to feel embarrassed in front of their friends and family and really the general lack of understanding about their condition," explains Jenny Arlow, stoma nurse for Respond Healthcare, the leading supplier of stoma and continence prescription services across Northern Ireland.

"Respond Healthcare, in association with TG Eakin and Colostomy UK, has carried out training with the security staff of Belfast International Airport to help create awareness of people travelling with stomas," Jenny says.

Nabeel Gill, Head of Security at Belfast International Airport, adds: "We are dedicated to be ensuring that all our passengers get through the security procedures as stress-free as possible, which is why it was important that our security staff are educated on passengers travelling with stomas and how we can make sure we are empathetic to the person’s needs, understand their concerns and have the correct process in place for conducting searches."

:: For further information or advice on living with a stoma or to request a copy of Respond’s Going On Holiday booklet please call 0800 028 6848 or visit Respond.co.uk