We recently partnered with Clinisupplies, which is a company that provides care organisations with high quality medical devices that are fully compliant with strict UK specifications. As experts in the area, they shared an article with us about common catheter care issues and the training and services they can offer to help avoid them. We hope you will find the information useful – please read below for the full article:
Indwelling urinary catheters can often provide a challenge for the patient living with a catheter and for the carers supporting them. Catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is a major problem and around 50% of all urine infections are as a direct result of having an indwelling catheter in place.
Identifying CAUTIs can be challenging as a CAUTI has similar symptoms to a typical urinary tract infection (UTI). These symptoms include:
- cloudy urine
- blood in the urine
- strong urine odour
- urine leakage around your catheter
- pressure, pain, or discomfort in your lower back or stomach
- chills
- fever
- unexplained fatigue
- vomiting
- In elderly people, changes in mental status or confusion
In addition to infection patients can also experience bladder spasm, bypassing of urine around the catheter and blockage where no urine flows from the catheter. Without a focused approach to catheter care and management, residents can develop problems which might result in them ending up in a hospital accident and emergency department or at the very least requiring a course of antibiotics.
Due to the challenges that can be found caring for patients with Catheters, Clinisupplies has created some training events to give both nurses and healthcare assistants the resources to understand catheter care and also improve knowledge around the different needs for different patients, such as; catheter Charier (CH) sizing, lengths, different types of drainage collection bags, and information regarding the balloon and tip size. These are certificated events which can be used as part of your continued professional development evidence and continue to provide the most up to date information and clinical evidence on catheter management.
Due to the challenges that patients with indwelling catheters can have Clinisupplies work with the patient and the carer to establish an individualised catheter regime. We have available a clinical nurse who specialises in continence and ostomy who you can book to come and review your patients’ clinical usage to ensure that they are using the right products and not developing any clinical issues. This visit is also a great opportunity for your staff to receive some personal clinical training and ask any specific questions about the appliances being used.
As well as a specialised nursing service will also offer a delivery service, which supplies your residents with the medical appliances they need when they need them most. Our highly trained customer care team are here to assist you with all your residents’ medical device prescriptions. To support you with this we have some specifically tailored additional services:
- Dedicated phone line for Care Home Professionals to discuss their residents’ needs
- Education and training packages available for registered nurses and care assistants
- Bespoke stoma base plate cutting service to meet your residents’ requirements
- A range of complimentary items
If you wish to discuss educational support, clinical nursing or home delivery packages please do not hesitate to contact Darian.Uys@clinisupplies.co.uk