FOI 26-257 Acute Urinary Retention Incidents
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-257 Acute Urinary Retention Incidents
- Request Date
- 08 Jun 2026
- Response Date
- 11 Jun 2026
- Information Requested
I am exploring cases of Acute Urinary Retention (AUR) encountered by SAS. Could you supply the following if possible:
- Current clinical guidelines relating to AUR
- Number ofAUR‑relatedcalls attended in the last 3–5 years
- Number of AUR patients conveyed to ED
- Average time on scene for AUR cases
- Whether any SAS staff groups (e.g., advanced practitioners, critical care paramedics) are authorised to perform catheterisation.
- Response
Q1 - The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold a standalone clinical guideline specifically dedicated to Acute Urinary Retention (AUR).
Clinical care is delivered in line with nationally recognised guidance, including Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC) guidelines, alongside locally approved clinical governance frameworks. These support the assessment and management of a wide range of clinical presentations rather than condition‑specific standalone policies.
While there is no dedicated AUR guideline, urinary retention is referenced within a number of broader clinical guidelines where it may present as:
- a red flag symptom (e.g. cauda equina syndrome and spinal pathology),
- a contributing factor to clinical presentations such as delirium or agitation, or
- a side effect of certain medications.
These guidelines emphasise the importance of recognising urinary retention as part of a wider clinical assessment and escalation where appropriate.
Management is typically dependent on the underlying cause. In practice, this may involve:
- escalation as an emergency where clinically indicated (e.g. suspected cauda equina syndrome), or
- referral to primary care or community services (such as district nursing teams) where appropriate.
Q2, Q3 & Q4 - The Scottish Ambulance Service records clinical information within electronic Patient Report Forms (ePRs). While free‑text clinical notes may include reference to Acute Urinary Retention, there is no discrete or coded data field by which AUR incidents can be reliably identified.
In order to identify AUR‑related cases, it would be necessary to manually review individual ePRs and apply clinical interpretation to free‑text entries. This process would require the application of complex clinical skill and judgement to determine whether a case meets the definition of Acute Urinary Retention.
Under FOISA, information is considered to be held only where it exists in a recorded format. The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold a dataset or report that identifies incidents of Acute Urinary Retention, nor associated conveyance outcomes or time‑on‑scene metrics.
It is for these reasons we have applied section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002 as information not held.
Q5 - The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold any recorded documentation listing all staff authorised to undertake urinary catheterisation, nor a dataset recording when this procedure is performed. It is for this reason we have applied section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002 as information not held.
Urinary catheterisation is not a core clinical skill routinely undertaken by Scottish Ambulance Service crews, and the Service does not routinely manage urinary retention as a standalone intervention within pre‑hospital care.
A small number of clinicians working in advanced or extended roles may undertake urinary catheterisation where they are appropriately trained, clinically competent, and operating within their scope of practice. This is most commonly within integrated roles alongside primary care or community services.
Catheterisation is not part of core advanced practitioner training, and the Service does not routinely carry the equipment required. In practice, patients with urinary retention who do not require hospital conveyance are generally referred to community services, such as district nursing teams.
