AUCA Conference

This is a patient-safety conference about preventing catheter-related urethral injuries through better clinical practice, training, escalation and governance.

The inaugural AUCA Conference is held in association with the 20th GURS-Masterclass, sharing insights from reconstructive surgeons who treat catheter-related injuries and experts in catheterisation training and patient safety.

The programme examines why avoidable injuries during urinary catheterisation continue to occur and how safer clinical practice, timely escalation, structured training, system learning, governance and professional accountability can reduce patient harm.

An international multidisciplinary faculty will examine real-world cases, mechanisms of injury, clinical decision-making and escalation. The conference also includes a live demonstration of the Advanced Male Urethral Catheterisation (AMUC) training pathway, expert panel discussions and audience Q&A.

What this conference delivers

• Clear principles for safe catheterisation, clinical decision-making and escalation
• Case-based analysis of catheter-related urethral injury and patient harm
• Practical approaches to staff training and implementation within clinical services
• A live demonstration of the Advanced Male Urethral Catheterisation training pathway
• Expert discussion of system learning, governance and professional accountability

The AUCA Conference aims to:

• improve understanding of how catheter-related urethral injuries occur and their consequences for patients;
• promote safer catheterisation practice, appropriate clinical decision-making and timely escalation;
• demonstrate how structured education and competency-based training can reduce avoidable harm;
• support the implementation of effective catheterisation training within clinical services;
• encourage learning from incidents through multidisciplinary review, governance and accountability; and
• bring together clinicians, educators and patient-safety leaders to develop practical strategies for preventing catheter-related injury.

No specialist urology experience or prior catheterisation training is required.

Participants should have an interest in urinary catheterisation, clinical education, patient safety, governance or the prevention of avoidable harm. The conference is suitable for both clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals.

Attendance at the AUCA Conference is free of charge, but advance registration is required to receive the joining link.

Catheterisation Injury—Prevention, System Learning and Accountability

The morning addresses prevention, escalation, serious complications, reporting, human factors and accountability; the afternoon then shows how competency-based catheterisation training and assessment is delivered and governed.

09:00–09:05 | Welcome and Online Check-In
Daniela Andrich

Morning Session

Prevention, Early Recognition and Acute Management of Catheter-Associated Urethral Injury

09:05–09:20 | Lecture
Catheter Safety: Why Every Catheterisation Pathway Needs a Plan B
Daniela Andrich

09:20–09:40 | Lecture
Escalation Pathways in the Emergency Department: Delivering Safe and Cost-Effective Care
Nikki Jeffery

09:40–10:00 | Lecture
Sepsis Following Catheter-Associated Urethral Injury: What Must Happen in the First 24 Hours
Keith Rourke

10:00–10:20 | Lecture
Capturing of Catheterisation Trauma in Electronic Patient Records: How EPIC Can Support Incident Reporting and Future Harm Prevention
Anastasia Frost

10:20–10:40 | Panel Discussion

Recognition, Escalation and Acute Management

Chair: Jai Eswara

Panel: Nikki Jeffery, Keith Rourke, Krishnan Venkatesan, Margit Fisch, Tony Mundy, Daniela Andrich

• When to stop 
• When to escalate 
• How to manage the injury and prevent serious harm

10:40–11:00 | Break

Late-Morning Session

Human Factors and Patient Safety

11:00–12:00 | Case-Based Forum
Where Did This Go Wrong?

Chair: Daniela Andrich

Real-world cases include:

• Catheter-associated urethral injury complications
• Catheter-associated urethral strictures
• Fournier’s gangrene following a catheter-related urethral injury

Case presenters:

• Nikki Jeffery 
• Jai Eswara 
• Keith Rourke 
• Krishnan Venkatesan 
• Ragheb Massouh 

12:00–13:00 | Panel Discussion
Cross-Specialty Harm and Accountability

Who is Responsible for Safe Patient-Care Pathways?
Chair: Daniela Andrich

Panel: Nikki Jeffery, Keith Rourke, Jai Eswara, Krishnan Venkatesan, Margit Fisch, Tony Mundy

13:00–14:00 | Lunch Break

Afternoon Session

From Training to Implementation

14:00–14:20 | Lecture
Standardised Catheterisation Training as a Patient-Safety Requirement
Daniela Andrich

14:20–14:40 | Lecture
Implementing Basic Male Urethral Catheterisation (BMUC) Skills Training:
Course Preparation, Trainer Faculty, Lesson Plans, Equipment and DOPS
Mariya Dragova

14:40–15:00 | Lecture
Advanced Male Urethral Catheterisation (AMUC) Skills Training:
Course Preparation, Trainer Faculty, Lesson Plans, Equipment and DOPS
Anastasia Frost

15:00–15:20 | Lecture
Integrating AUCA E-learning Modules into Hospital Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Anastasia Frost

15:20–15:40 | Lecture
AUCA E-learning Certification and Licensing Model to Support Practical Skills Training Implementation
Daniela Andrich

15:40–16:00 | Lecture
Governance of Mandatory Catheterisation Training for Junior Doctors: Compliance, Monitoring and Reporting
Magdalena Tosun

16:00–17:00 | Semi-Live Training Demonstration

Catheterisation Skills Training for Doctors and Nurses

Anastasia Frost, Mariya Dragova and Training Faculty

Pre-recorded during the FY1/FY2 induction programme, with live faculty commentary and discussion. The complete training pathway from preparation to competency assessment:

• Trainer preparation and equipment
• Faculty demonstration
• Recognition of difficulty 
• Knowing when to stop
• Escalation strategies (ABC escalation pathway) 
• Standardised safe practice 
• Supervised practical skills training at group tables 
• DOPS-based competency assessment

17:00–17:20 | Implementation Q&A and Faculty Take-Home Messages

Making Safe Catheterisation Training Work in Every Hospital

Chair: Daniela Andrich

Faculty:

• Mariya Dragova 
• Anastasia Frost 
• Magdalena Tosun

17:20–17:30 | Live Closing Remarks
Daniela Andrich

The AUCA Conference is designed for everyone who performs, teaches, supervises or is responsible for urinary catheterisation, including:

• Nursing and medical students
• Nurses and junior doctors
• Clinical educators and simulation faculty
• Emergency and acute-care clinicians
• Continence, urology and catheter-care specialists
• Urologists and surgical and medical trainees
• Patient-safety, governance and quality-improvement leads
• Education managers, hospital managers and policymakers
• Healthcare leaders responsible for training, policy and service improvement

Dear colleagues,

Welcome to the inaugural AUCA Conference, held in association with the 20th GURS-Masterclass.

Catheter-related urethral injuries are often preventable, yet they continue to cause significant harm—including permanent disability, severe infection and, in the most serious cases, death. This conference brings together clinicians, educators, patient-safety leaders and education managers to examine why these injuries occur and how safer practice, structured training, timely escalation, governance and accountability can prevent them.

By bringing together the insights of reconstructive surgeons who treat the consequences of these injuries with catheterisation education and patient-safety expertise, I hope we can move beyond treating avoidable harm towards preventing it.

I look forward to welcoming you online on Friday, 30 October 2026.

Daniela Andrich
Conference Convenor
Director, Advanced Urinary Catheterisation Academy

Who Should Attend?

This conference is for anyone involved in urinary catheterisation, staff training, patient safety, or the prevention and management of catheter-related harm.

It will be particularly relevant to nursing and medical students; nurses and doctors at all career stages who perform or supervise catheterisation; educators responsible for training and competency assessment; and those involved in reviewing incidents, developing policy, governance, or improving clinical services.