Urinary Catheter Support
PowerCare supports NDIS participants with urinary catheters — indwelling, suprapubic and intermittent catheterisation. Delivered by registered nurses, or by support workers with high-intensity training working under registered-nurse supervision.
Yes, we support participants with a catheter
Urinary catheter management is one of the seven high-intensity supports PowerCare is registered and audited to deliver, under NDIS registration group 104 and Practice Standards Module 1.
That covers indwelling urethral catheters, suprapubic catheters, and intermittent catheterisation — as set out in the participant’s clinical plan.
Who delivers the care
Catheter support is delivered either by registered nurses, or by support workers who hold high-intensity training and work under registered-nurse supervision — depending on the participant’s clinical needs and circumstances.
A registered nurse sets up the support, trains the workers against the participant’s own catheter care plan, and stays responsible for how it is delivered.
What a shift actually looks like
Catheter care is small, frequent and unglamorous, and it is the small frequent unglamorous things that keep someone out of hospital.
On shift, the worker delivers the catheter care specified in the participant’s plan — hygiene at the site, drainage and bag management, emptying and changing bags, keeping the system closed and clean, and monitoring output. Around that, the ordinary day continues.
Workers know the participant’s plan for what to do if the catheter blocks, is dislodged, or if there are signs of infection — and they escalate to the supervising registered nurse rather than waiting to see.
How to start
Call us. Tell us what type of catheter it is, who manages it clinically, and what the current routine is.
A registered nurse reviews it and we tell you plainly whether we can deliver it and when. Workers are trained against your specific plan before the first shift, so the start date we give you on the first call is a real one.
Common questions
Can support workers do catheter care, or does it need a nurse?
Both are possible, and which one applies depends on the participant’s clinical needs. Urinary catheter management is a high-intensity support, so it is delivered either directly by registered nurses, or by support workers who hold high-intensity training and work under registered-nurse supervision. It is never delivered by an untrained worker with no clinical oversight.
Do you do catheter changes?
Catheter changes are performed within the scope of the participant’s clinical plan and by the appropriately qualified person under that plan. Tell us the details on the first call and a registered nurse will tell you exactly who does what, before you sign anything.
What about intermittent self-catheterisation?
Where a participant self-catheterises, support can include assistance, prompting and set-up as their plan specifies. Where they cannot, catheterisation is delivered as a high-intensity support by nurses or nurse-supervised trained workers.
Who do you call if there’s a problem?
The supervising registered nurse first, and the participant’s treating team, following the escalation plan written into their support plan. Emergencies follow the emergency plan, which the worker rehearses before their first shift.
Which NDIS funding pays for it?
Urinary catheter management is a high-intensity daily personal activity funded from the Core supports budget (registration group 104).
One team, not a referral chain.
Most participants need more than one of these. Every support below is delivered by the same PowerCare team, under the same registration.
Tell us what's happening.
One call. A real person. An honest answer about whether we can help — including if the answer is no. Registered NDIS provider in Sydney.