Putting the person first: Six priorities for long-term urinary catheter care

For many clinicians, insertion of a long-term urinary catheter represents the end of one clinical journey. For patients, it often marks the beginning of another. While infection, blockage, leakage and catheter changes understandably dominate clinical encounters, they represent only part of the patient’s experience. We propose the Beyond the Catheter Framework as a roadmap for improving long-term catheter care through three complementary domains: Prevent, Optimise and Transform. The framework emphasises preventing avoidable catheter dependence, optimising person-centred care and clinical ownership, and driving innovation through partnership with patients. By looking beyond the catheter, we aim to shift the focus from managing the device to caring for the person living with it.