Last week, a parliamentary debate on chronic UTIs provoked strong feelings on the current state of care, diagnosis and recognition of the condition. None more so than Dr Allison Gardner MP, who tearfully explained her battle with the condition which left her considering the removal of her bladder.
Dr Gardner bemoaned the use of dipstick tests, claiming their accuracy is no better than tossing a coin, meaning women suffer with undetected and untreated infections. This was a constant theme throughout the debate: if this debilitating condition overwhelmingly affected men, would the diagnosis and care be so woefully inadequate? Unlikely, according to the group.
There were other helpful contributions from Matt Turmaine MP, who demanded accurate testing for UTIs at primary care level, and Jess Brown-Fuller, the Liberal Democrats’ Primary Care Spokesperson. Ms Brown-Fuller called for the MHRA’s capacity to be expanded and asked the minister to outline the steps being taken to ensure that better diagnostic tools are made available. In response, the minister pointed to the current TOUCAN study to evaluate the rapid point-of-care UTI diagnostic tests in GP surgeries.
This debate encapsulates BIVDA’s recent call for a truly neighbourhood NHS, which is fit for the future and able to provide rapid diagnostic testing in community and primary care settings. If more accurate, faster diagnostic tests were used in these settings, thousands of women would be spared suffering. They would also receive the correct antibiotic for their treatment, leading to higher chance of a successful recovery and improved antimicrobial stewardship.
You can watch part of Dr Gardner’s speech here.
