The Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) catheter care guidance has recently been updated. The revised publication aims to encourage further adoption of the National Occupational Standards across all NHS and independent health care sectors, leading to good quality care for patients.
Continence is one of the fundamentals of nursing care and maintaining continence can significantly increase a patient’s quality of life. In 2006 the RCN introduced six competences related to catheter care:
- Insert and secure urethral catheters
- Monitor, and help individuals to self-monitor, urethral catheters
- Manage suprapubic catheters
- Undertake a trial without catheter (TWOC)
- Enable individuals to carry out intermittent self-catheterisation
- Review catheter care.
This update is intended to provide depth and clarify in these areas. It reflects Nursing and Midwifery Council guidance around the standards that nurses must consistently maintain throughout their careers to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
The document is not a compendium of evidence and many of the statements are based on clinical experience and expert opinion. It also includes a list of abbreviations, a glossary and an easy to access list of Skills for Health standards. The five appendices give practical advice on the following areas:
- Urinary catheter and related equipment
- Removal of urethral catheter
- Urethral catheterisation procedures for male and female patients
- Suprapubic catheterisation procedure
- Guidance at a glance—urinary catheters.
The publication is a resource for any healthcare professional who is required to undertake urinary catheterisation as part of their role, whether they are a registered practitioner or an unregistered practitioner working under the guidance/supervision of someone on a professional register.
