Whitehouse Communications acts as Secretariat for, and provides public affairs to, the Urology Trade Association (UTA), the body set up in 2007 to protect and promote the Drug Tariff as the preferred mechanism to support research, innovation and development in the UK urology industry. Through the campaign, the UTA secured the Government’s decision to abandon plans to remove urology products from Part IX of the Drug Tariff, and slowed and relaxed the introduction of formularies for urology products, protecting patient access to a category of NHS products expected to see rising demand as the UK population ages.
The challenge
The Urology Trade Association (UTA) was set up in 2007 with the overriding aim of protecting and promoting the Drug Tariff as the preferred mechanism to support research, innovation and development in the urology industry. The industry is one of the largest health product suppliers to patients via the NHS, and demand for urological products is expected to rise over the next decade, in part because of the UK’s ageing population and the bladder and bowel complications that can develop as people get older.
The industry faced sustained pressure from policy proposals that could have undermined the Drug Tariff framework for urology, including the removal of urology products from Part IX of the Drug Tariff and the introduction of restrictive formularies. These changes carried significant risks to research and innovation in the sector, to patient access and outcomes, and to NHS costs, including the risk that a return to reusing catheters could increase urinary tract infections. The UTA required sustained secretariat and public affairs support to defend the framework in Whitehall and Parliament and to shape the wider policy conversation on urology.
Our approach
Whitehouse Communications runs the UTA’s secretariat and public affairs, combining sustained engagement across the NHS, Parliament and Whitehall with structured advocacy on the specific policy proposals that most affect the urology sector.
The work focuses on:
- Meeting and engaging with partners from across the NHS to highlight the major opportunities in the urological sector, building the shared understanding across health system leaders that is needed to defend the Drug Tariff framework.
- Identifying and working with key parliamentary groups to amplify UTA priorities in Parliament, including the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Continence Care.
- Organising meetings with healthcare bodies and policymakers to highlight the social and economic impact of proposed changes to the current framework, including the patient and NHS-cost consequences of any move that could increase urinary tract infections through catheter reuse.
- Building the UTA’s standing over time as a credible policy voice, enabling the association to grow and actively pursue other related areas of interest and concern to the urology industry beyond its founding Drug Tariff focus.
The outcome
Through the UTA’s sustained campaign work, there is now widespread awareness in the policy environment of the dangers to patients and costs to the NHS that would be associated with any rise in urinary tract infections linked to a return to reusing catheters. The Government has abandoned plans to remove urology products from Part IX of the Drug Tariff, and the introduction of formularies has been slowed with their restrictiveness relaxed.
The Urology Trade Association has grown from a single-issue body focused on the Drug Tariff into an active voice on the wider policy environment for the UK urology industry, positioned as a credible partner for the NHS, Parliament and Whitehall on the future of urological care.
