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Challenges of catheter associated urinary tract infection: is prevention better than cure?

Catheterisation is a common medical procedure in which a catheter (a hollow flexible tube) is inserted into the bladder in order to facilitate the drainage of urine. Catheters are usually passed into the bladder via the urethra, either to be...

The scent of Ethiopia: a personal story – part 1

Background The year was 2004; I had just moved to the UK as a young house officer and finished my observership programme at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. I was inspired by greats like Patrick Duffy and Phillip Ransley,...

‘One team’: our experience teaching catheter care and difficult urethral catheterisation to NHS Nightingale Hospital London volunteer staff members

The NHS Nightingale Hospital London was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-March 2020, the predicted scale of the pandemic was uncertain and there was concern that COVID-19 might overwhelm existing intensive care unit (ICU) capacity within weeks....

MRI screening for prostate cancer: a step towards a ‘prostagram’

The UK National Screening Committee has been calling for further research into alternative screening tests for prostate cancer. The committee decided against prostate cancer screening using prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing on the basis that “PSA is still a poor...

Training to be a urologist: how risky is it?

The NHS and urology face challenging times in trying to provide quality patient care efficiently and economically. Urology trainees are experiencing conflicting pressures with a new contract, a challenging on-call system and changing training requirements in an overstretched, centralised service...

Hard flaccid syndrome

Chronic pelvic pain is defined as pain present below the level of the umbilicus with a duration of more than six months [1,2]. Chronic pelvic pain syndromes (CPPS) are highly prevalent in Western society, affecting both males and females. Studies...

Convatec Healthcare is changing

Forever Caring At Convatec, ‘forever caring’ is our promise to give patients and healthcare providers the support they need as we bring to life our vision of pioneering trusted medical solutions to improve the lives we touch. Existing complications of...

‘Man van’ launched to speed up cancer diagnosis and improve healthcare access

The ‘Man Van’, an innovative new outreach programme, was launched in March this year to provide free health checks for men and boost early diagnosis of prostate and other urological cancers. The mobile health clinic will visit workplaces and churches...

The surgical trainer – are we still evolving?

“We need a system and we will surely have it – which will produce not only surgeons, but surgeons of the highest type” William Halsted MD William Halsted, a famous American surgeon, is widely credited with developing the first formal...

Frailty in urology – part 2

The first article in this series defined frailty and introduced the concept and importance of identifying patients living with frailty who undergo surgery, including those undergoing urological procedures. In the second part of this series we outline how to identify...

Artificial penile pearls: what every Urologist should know!

Penile implants are inert objects placed beneath the skin of the penis through an incision. These are variously referred to as Yakuza beads, pearls, ball bearings, speed bumps, penile marbles, inserts, etc. The term ‘penile implant’ described here should not...