Urinary Tract Infections: Medical Treatments
(asked on 14th March 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase treatment options for individuals with chronic UTIs.
NHS England’s urinary tract infection (UTI) reduction workstream was established as part of delivery of the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024, which is available at the following link:
The workstream aims to enhance prevention, support early and accurate diagnosis and improve the treatment of UTIs through identifying and adopting best practice and interventions for different populations.
The effective treatment of chronic UTIs is dependent on accurate testing. The importance of accurate testing to guide effective antibiotic use is highlighted in the action plan, and NHS England is supporting research into newer point-of-care tests for UTIs, such as via the Toucan study, with more information available at the following link:
https://www.phctrials.ox.ac.uk/recruiting-trials/toucan-platform-for-uti-diagnostic-evaluation
NHS England has been working with other public bodies, including UK Health Security Agency to strengthen the guidance about the appropriate use of diagnostics including dipsticks. General practitioners can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes, ensuring accuracy of tests used.