Women who suspect they have a urinary tract infection will be able to access fast-track testing and treatment — without seeing a GP — as part of an NHS England pilot scheme being trialled in 38 ‘Pharmacy First’ branches across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
Instead of waiting for a GP appointment, women will be offered a Dip UTI test — a home-use kit developed by Healthy.io, the creators of a smartphone-powered urinalysis.
Dip UTI combines the standard dipstick urine test used by GPs with an app that turns a smartphone camera into a clinical grade medical device.
Experts believe the initiative will provide women with rapid relief from symptoms, reduce complications due to delayed treatment and curb the number of unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics. It also aligns with the NHS Long Term Plan to improve community healthcare by making greater use of pharmacists’ skills.
Samantha Travis, clinical leadership adviser for NHS England in the Midlands, said: “This pilot scheme forms part of a wider project to improve community health care by making greater use of pharmacists’ skills. Our extended ‘Pharmacy First’ Scheme - which allows patients to have minor ailments treated by a pharmacist – has been running in selected pharmacies in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire since February 2018."
Suspected UTIs account for up to 3% of all GP visits. In England alone, this adds up to around 10.2 million consultations, and costs the NHS more than £316 million in GP time. Each GP consultation is estimated to cost the NHS £31, but a consultation with a community pharmacist costs the health service a tenth of that amount.
Dr Ken Deacon, medical director for NHS England in the Midlands, said: “This innovative pharmacy scheme offers rapid relief for women while freeing up GP appointments. UTI is the most common bacterial infection in humans and it affects up to 15% of women every year.
“Under the scheme, women who don’t test positive for a UTI will have a follow-up consultation. This allows the pharmacist to explore further the possible causes of their symptoms and discuss treatment or a GP referral.”
Through the NHS pilot, the kit and consultation will be free and, if needed, antibiotics will be provided (under a Patient Group Direction) for the usual NHS prescription charge of £9 or free for those who do not normally pay for prescriptions.
East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN) commercial director Tim Robinson said: "Our aim as an organisation is to identify, test and spread innovation in health which improve outcomes and experiences for patients and save the NHS money.
“By supporting this technology-enabled pathway, we hope to provide patients with quicker and easier access to UTI treatment and reduce GP appointments.”
Dip UTI has won approvals from the European Union and the US Food and Drugs Administration, and has been adopted by the NHS Innovation Accelerator programme, which was established to fast-track evidence-based technologies with the potential to deliver major improvements in patient care.
The new Dip UTI digital urinary dipstick test includes the same reagent dipstick test used by doctors, a pop-up plastic cup for urine collection, plus the colour-board and app which ensure swift and highly accurate results.
The app has a virtual nurse who talks users through the procedure and ensures every step is carried out correctly — and user-trials have confirmed this overcomes many of the potential pitfalls surrounding urine tests.
Once the strip has been dipped into a mid-stream urine sample, it is placed on the proprietary colour-board and the user scans it with their mobile phone. The Dip UTI app then uses colour blocks on the board as a reference to accurately detect any colour changes on the dipstick which indicate a bacterial infection.
The precision of Dip UTI test rests in its app and colour-board which eliminates any variation from phone to phone and replicates the result that would appear in a neutral, ambient light.
Research confirms it analyses results with the accuracy of laboratory analysers and greater precision than the visual reads performed by GPs and other healthcare professionals.
The urine test is used to detect nitrites, leukocytes and red blood cells — markers associated with UTIs.
If the dipstick test is positive, depending on the severity of symptoms, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advises that women should be started on antibiotics immediately, or given a back-up prescription in case their symptoms get worse, or do not improve within 48 hours.
