Determining local service levels for a urinary continence service for the conservative management of urinary incontinence in women
Benchmarks for a standard population
Available data suggest that the standard benchmark rate for a referral into a urinary continence service for women is 0.80%, or 800 per 100,000, of the adult female population (aged 15 years or older) per year.
For a standard primary care trust population of 250,000, assuming that around 40% are women aged 15 years or older (100,000), the average number of women requiring referral into a urinary continence service would be 800 per year (0.80% of the female population).
For an average practice with a list size of 10,000, assuming that around 40% are women aged 15 years or older (4000), the average number of women requiring referral into a urinary continence service would be 32 per year (0.80% of the female population).
The adult female population has been defined as women aged 15 years and older. This is due to the availability of activity data and population data at general practice level within certain age bands and its use within the commissioning and becnhmarking tool.
This service is likely to fall under the programme budgeting category 217X (problems of genito-urinary system).
Examine the assumptions used in estimating these figures.
Use the urinary continence service commissioning and benchmarking tool to determine the level of service that might be needed locally and to calculate the cost of commissioning the service using the indicative benchmark and/or your own local data.
Further information
Sources of further information to help you in assessing local health needs and reducing health inequalities include:
- Annex A of the Commissioning framework for health and well-being outlines the process and data needed to undertake a joint strategic needs assessment.
- Department of Health Delivering quality and value - focus on benchmarking.
- NICE Health equity audit - learning from practice briefing.
- National audit of continence care for older people provides access to individual site reports and data, and material to support the dissemination of results.
- The essence of care: patient-focused benchmarking for health care practitioners provides benchmarking tools related to eight aspects of nursing care, including continence, bladder and bowel care.
- Incontinence outcome indicators (1999) provides health outcome indicators for UI.
- Delivering the 18 week patient pathway: 18 week commissioning pathways.
- The No delays achiever provides access to service improvement tools aimed at reducing time between referral and treatment.
- PRIMIS+ provides support to general practices on information management, recording for, and analysis of, data quality, plus a comparative analysis service focused on key clinical topics.
This page was last updated: 02 March 2012
- Urinary continence service
- Commissioning a urinary continence service
- Specifying a urinary continence service
- Determining local service levels for a urinary continence service for the conservative management of urinary incontinence in women
- Assumptions used in estimating a population benchmark
- The commissioning and benchmarking tool
- Ensuring corporate and quality assurance
