Urinary catheter-related infection: an education programme for users.

While infection control has increased in profile both clinically and politically, it has also become embedded in clinical governance frameworks of NHS Trusts. Over the last few years the Department of Health has produced a number of documents in an attempt to highlight the increasing risk of healthcare associated infection. Today, the need for education as a key component in health care has been recognized as well as the need for patients and carers to receive information and be trained in, for example, technique of hand decontamination and catheter management following discharge from hospital. The objective of the education programme outlined in this article was to work alongside government guidelines in an attempt to improve education and understanding about infection control and management of infection in the catheterized patient.