Resources

An estimated 90 000 people living in the community have long-term indwelling urinary catheters (Gage et al, 2017). Most urinary catheters are initially inserted in hospital (Shackley et al, 2017). In some cases, there are plans to carry out a trial without catheter (TWOC) but in other cases the indication for urinary catheterisation is unclear and/or there are no plans to remove the catheter. Around 50–70% of people with long-term catheters experience problems such as bladder pain, catheter leakage, blockage and urinary tract infection (Youssef et al, 2023). In the past TWOC was routinely carried out in dedicated hospital clinics (Tay et al, 2016), but in recent years increasing numbers of TWOCs have been carried out in the community (Logan and Coghlan, 2022). Suprapubic catheters are often inserted when it is difficult to catheterise urethrally and there can be the sense that suprapubic catheters are permanent (British Association of Urological Surgeons (2025). This article explores suprapubic TWOC in community settings.

By: Maya Pote, Therapy Lead, Ealing and Northwick Park Hospitals, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust; Victoria Jones, Principal Physiotherapist, MSK & Pelvic Health, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

UCCT is exploring the roles of the different professions of the multidisciplinary team. Maya Pote talks to Victoria Jones about the role of physiotherapy, and what she wishes her patients and her colleagues knew about physiotherapy and pelvic health.
 

Urinary symptoms are unusual in healthy young adults, especially in men. This is changing as a result of increased recreational use of ketamine and its effects on the urinary system. This article highlights the clinical features of ketamine-induced uropathy and outlines treatments.

Intermittent urethral catheters for chronic incomplete bladder emptying in adults: late-stage assessment, the latest health technology evaluation from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), is published today, 9 July 2025.

This World Continence Week (16-22 June) ERIC, The Children’s Bowel & Bladder Charity have launched a campaign with TV star Mollie Pearce and 8-year-old Katie Thirling, who both have stomas, to raise awareness and break the stigma around bowel and bladder issues.  

Around 10,500 people are diagnosed with bladder cancer in the UK every year. It's the 11th most common cancer in the UK, and the 7th most common cancer in men (Cancer Research UK, 2025a).  Bladder cancer is most common in older people. Almost 60% of new cases are in people aged 75 years and over, and it is rare in people under 40 years of age. More men than women get bladder cancer. This may be because more men than women have smoked or been exposed to chemicals at work in recent decades (Cancer Research UK, 2025a).

With a quarter of children now starting school not toilet trained, ERIC, The Children’s Bowel and Bladder Charity is launching an intervention to help reverse the trend, and is inviting families and healthcare professionals to hop aboard the Toilet Train.

Over the last century, the average age that children are being potty trained in the UK has risen from 12–18 months, to an average of around three or even four years today (Blum et al, 2004).

Over the past few decades, advances in technology have revolutionised the field of urology. From diagnostic tools to surgical techniques, these innovations have greatly improved the way urological conditions are diagnosed and treated. The integration of technology into urology services has revolutionised diagnosis, treatment and patient care. From advanced imaging techniques to minimally invasive surgical procedures, technology plays a crucial role in improving outcomes and enhancing patient experience in urological care. This article discusses a number of these innovations and looks at how they are influencing urology practice. 

Intermittent catheterisation is considered the gold standard for urine drainage (Holroyd, 2018). It can be used as treatment for voiding problems due to disturbances or injuries to the nervous system, non-neurogenic bladder dysfunction, or intravesical obstruction with incomplete bladder emptying (Royal College of Nursing [RCN], 2018). Irrespective of the underlying cause, patients with voiding problems frequently find themselves having to make use of a catheter to drain their bladder when it fills and thereby undertake regular intermittent self-catheterisation (ISC). Intermittent catheterisation involves the introduction of a catheter into the bladder and its immediate removal when drainage stops, a process which needs to be repeated four to six times a day (Holroyd, 2018). The experience of performing ISC, while straightforward for some, can be both difficult and painful for others (Guinet-Lacoste et al, 2016; Rognoni and Tarricone, 2017).

Nurses and nursing leaders continue to be overwhelmed by increasing challenges as the call to demonstrate higher levels of resilience gains momentum. And yet nurses continue to be faced with unparalleled levels of adversity, leading to a loss of hope, with many choosing to leave the profession rather than continue to be exposed to unyielding levels of stress that have the potential to threaten the survival of the profession itself. With this in mind, this paper focuses on the importance of nurses working collaboratively through the process of coaching, a construct gaining momentum as the profession seeks to expand and facilitate new ways of working in order to develop both current and future nursing leaders and, in so doing, not only strengthen the voice of nursing, but also improve the way in which nurses practice.