Quality standard

This quality standard covers managing urinary incontinence in women (aged 18 and over). It covers assessment, care and treatment options. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

It does not cover urinary incontinence in women with neurological disease.

In December 2021, changes were made to align this quality standard with the new NICE guideline on pelvic floor dysfunction. The wording of statement 4 has been amended to reflect the new recommendations on pelvic floor muscle training. The guideline has been added as source guidance for statements 1, 2, 4 and 5, and definitions, measures and references have been updated to reflect the new guideline recommendations.

How to use NICE quality standards and how we develop them

Quality standards help you improve the quality of care you provide or commission. They apply in England and Wales (see the UK government website and Welsh government website). Decisions on how they apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland are made by ministers in the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive.

Find out how to use quality standards and how we develop them. We check our quality standards every August to make sure they are up to date.