| Status | In progress |
| Technology type | Device |
| Decision | Selected |
| Reason for decision | Anticipate the topic will be of importance to patients, carers, professionals, commissioners and the health of the public to ensure clinical benefit is realised, inequalities in use addressed, and help them make the best use of NHS resources |
| Description | Intermittent catheters are usually used for self-catheterisation for long-term bladder management when a person has difficulty emptying their bladder. The catheters are inserted several times a day, once the bladder is drained it is removed. People with bladder control issues or other medical conditions, such as bladder dysfunction, neurologic deficits, and urethral obstruction from strictures or tumours can experience chronic incomplete bladder emptying and use intermittent catheters. Intermittent catheters have been through continuous improvement and incremental innovation. The types of intermittent catheters can differ by catheter material, coating and tip. Improvements and innovations include, but are not limited to, hydrophilic coating, lubricated and non-lubricated, uncoated, silicone and PVC catheters. Different features and additions have led to price variation, with prices ranging from £0.12 to £3.57 across all the types of intermittent catheters (NHS Supply Chain, 2024). Costs to the NHS for intermittent catheters rose from around £120 million in 2017 to £167 in 2022 (Prescription Cost Analysis in England 2017, 2022). NICE is scoping for an assessment on intermittent catheters for urinary management in adults as part of a new process called late-stage assessment (LSA). LSA aims to assess technologies that are in widespread or established use in the NHS to support procurement and commissioning decisions. Over time, technologies have often undergone continuous improvement or incremental innovation, leading to price variation. LSA will assess if the value added by incremental innovation justifies any price variation. |
Provisional Schedule
| Committee meeting: 1 | 16 January 2025 |
| Draft guidance | 18 February 2025 - 04 March 2025 |
| Committee meeting: 2 | 24 April 2025 |
Project Team
| Project lead | Deonee Stanislaus |
Email enquiries
- If you have any queries please email lsa@nice.org.uk
Timeline
Key events during the development of the guidance:
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| 04 October 2024 | Stakeholder list updated |
| 01 October 2024 | Final scope |
| 21 August 2024 | Scoping workshop |
| 09 July 2024 | In progress. In Progress |