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

All times UK time (GMT)

The morning addresses prevention, early recognition, escalation, serious complications, human factors and accountability through clinical lectures and case-based discussions. The afternoon focuses on competency-based catheterisation training, institutional implementation and governance, and how electronic patient records can support patient-safety learning, culminating in a semi-live practical skills training demonstration.

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

Morning Session

Prevention, Early Recognition and Acute Management of Catheterisation-Associated Urethral Injury (CAUI)

09:05–09:25 | Lecture
Catheter Safety: Why Every Catheterisation Pathway Needs a Plan B
Daniela Andrich

09:25–09:50 | Lecture
Escalation Pathways in the Emergency Department: Delivering Safe and Cost-Effective Care
Nikki Jeffery

09:50–10:15 | Lecture
Difficult Urinary Catheterization & Iatrogenic Urethral Injury: The Scourge of Urology
Keith Rourke

10:15–10:40 | Recognition, Escalation and Acute Management — Live Panel Discussion and Audience Q&A

Chair: Nikki Jeffery 

Panel: GURS and AUCA faculty

• 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

Panel: GURS and AUCA faculty

Real-world cases include:

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

12:00–13:00 | Lunch Break

Afternoon Session

From Training to Implementation

13:00–13:25 | Lecture
Standardised Catheterisation Training as a Patient-Safety Requirement
Daniela Andrich

13:25–13:50 | Lecture
Implementing Basic Male Urethral Catheterisation (BMUC) Skills Training:
Course Preparation, Trainer Faculty, Lesson Plans, Equipment and DOPS
Mariya Dragova

13:50–14:15 | Lecture
Advanced Male Urethral Catheterisation (AMUC) Skills Training:
Course Preparation, Trainer Faculty, Lesson Plans, Equipment and DOPS
Anastasia Frost

14:15–14:40 | Lecture
Integrating AUCA E-learning Modules into Hospital Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Anastasia Frost

14:40–15:05 | Lecture
AUCA E-learning Certification and Licensing Model to Support Practical Skills Training Implementation
Daniela Andrich

15:05–15:30 | Lecture
Implementing Mandatory Catheterisation Training: From Practical Competency Assessment to Trust-Wide Governance
Anastasia Frost

15:30–15:50 | Lecture
From Invisible Injury to Actionable Data: Using Electronic Patient Records to Improve Catheterisation Safety Through Human-Centred Workflow Design
Daniela Andrich

15:50–16:00 | Break

Late-Afternoon Session

Practical Training Demonstration

From Educational Principles to Clinical Competence 

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

17:00–17:10 | Implementation Q&A and Faculty Take-Home Messages

Making Safe Catheterisation Training Work in Every Hospital 

Chair: Daniela Andrich

Faculty:

• Mariya Dragova 
• Anastasia Frost 

17:10–17:30 | 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.