About Us

The Kangaroo Club was set up in 1991. It is run entirely by volunteers, although we are extremely lucky to have close links with and support from the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Kat Baker, Colorectal Surgeon is our President and we receive a great deal of support from the entire Colorectal Nursing team, as well as other medical staff.

The aim of the club is to help support anyone following or considering ileo-anal pouch surgery or Koch pouch surgery and their families. Ileo-anal pouch surgery involves the removal of the colon and rectum and the replacement of the rectum with a reservoir made out of small intestine.

Koch Pouches (an alternative to an end ileostomy) are formed by creating a reservoir behind the stoma whereby the patient does not wear a bag, but catheterises the stoma every 3 or 4 hours. This is a major, technical operation often requiring repeat surgery.

The club aims to facilitate easy information exchange between club members because, as we all know, knowledge is power! As pouch owners we know best both the positives and negatives of living with a pouch and the tips and tricks that make our pouches as well behaved as possible.

Our Committee Members

Kat Baker

Consultant Colorectal Surgeon OUH NHS Foundation Trust and President

Elena Harton

Communications

Laura Dunn

Chairman

Ruth Cox

Secretary

Emma Harris

Vice Chairman

Mick Goddard

General Member

Richard Stammers

Treasurer

Advisory Support

Fran Woodhouse

Senior Specialist Nurse, Colorectal Nursing Team, OUH NHS Foundation Trust

Simon Turley

Senior Specialist Nurse, Colorectal Nursing Team, OUH NHS Foundation Trust

Angie Perrin

Clinical Education Lead, Salts Healthcare

Our Sponsors

The Colorectal Nursing team within Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust cares for all patients along their pouch care pathway, by providing detailed information to enable individuals to make an informed decision about surgery, teaching stoma care and subsequently offering advice and support to optimise pouch function.

The team is based across all 3 sites, John Radcliffe & Churchill Hospitals in Oxford and Horton General in Banbury and consists of 8 Nurse Specialists and a very experienced administrator. A Nurse-led Pouch clinic is run from the John Radcliffe site, as well as a Nurse-led pouch telephone follow-up.

Salts Healthcare, established in 1701, is one of the UK’s oldest, family-run companies that has grown to become a highly successful international medical device manufacturer. Operating from headquarters in Birmingham, Salts is split into two divisions:

  • Salts Stoma Care, which designs and manufactures stoma care devices and additional products;

  • Medilink, a national network of 17 Dispensing Care Centres that supply and dispense stoma care and continence products by all manufacturers.

Salts are also proud to offer high quality educational support for healthcare professionals and patients through the Salts Academy, which is led by Angie Perrin. If she possibly can – and she almost always does –  Angie takes part in the annual Kangaroo Club Information Day, in order to support all attending with her considerable knowledge and experience.

For more information please go to: About Us/Salts Healthcare.

Salts Healthcare - Would Like Your Help

A generous sponsor of the Kangaroo Club, Salts Healthcare would love to hear from anyone interested in getting involved with anything from their initial research, to the development of their products. For more information and to get involved please click here: Get Involved (Salts)

Dan Macleod Digital Design is a small London based web and graphic design consultancy.

 D2e is a small business growth consultancy based in Oxfordshire. They are delighted to sponsor the Kangaroo Club.