Auditing urinary catheter care.

Urinary catheters are the main cause of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections among inpatients. Healthcare staff can reduce the risk of patients developing an infection by ensuring they give evidence-based care and by removing the catheter as soon as it is no longer necessary. An audit conducted in a Hampshire hospital demonstrated there was poor documented evidence that best practice was being carried out. Therefore a urinary catheter assessment and monitoring tool was designed to promote best practice and produce clear evidence that care had been provided.