This article has been written by Sally Palmer and Carole Hallam from IPS.
On Wednesday this week, we had the pleasure of facilitating the DRIPP collaborative workshop, “Moving Forwards,” held in Winnersh at the BD offices. The event welcomed over 50 delegates from across healthcare, including colleagues from urology, vascular access teams, infection prevention and control (IPC), and the acute, community, and private sectors.
The programme featured a range of insightful presentations, including updates on the progress of the DRIPP collaborative, an overview of the NHS 10-year plan delivered by Kirsty Morgan, and a session on infection prevention and control surveillance from Dr Jude Robinson of the UK Health Security Agency.
The focus then shifted to sustainability, with engaging sessions led by Dr Enrique Castro-Sanchez and Andrew Barton. This was complemented by a presentation from Sam Davison and Patricia McDermott on the development of an interactive intermittent catheter guide.
Throughout the day, delegates had valuable opportunities for networking, as well as participation in case study judging, with four submissions currently under consideration for publication on the website. Congratulations to Joanne Green, Deputy DIPC at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, who won the case study competition and received a £75 Amazon voucher.
The afternoon featured an interactive escape room activity, where participants worked through a scenario using DRIPP resources. Teams collected letters to solve an anagram, ultimately spelling the organism Stenotrophomonas—a fun and engaging way to reinforce learning.
The day concluded with a session on value-based procurement delivered by Robert Owen and Malvika Acharya. Overall, the event generated significant energy and enthusiasm, inspiring further development of resources and collaboration across the group.
It is a pleasure for Carole and me to share the ongoing work of the Device-related Infection Prevention Practice (DRIPP) collaborative. Established in 2019 and supported by an unrestricted educational grant from BD, the collaborative continues to grow and evolve.
If you have not yet explored the DRIPP website, we strongly encourage you to do so. You may be surprised by the breadth of resources available to support evidence-based practice in urinary catheters (UC) and vascular access devices (VAD).
DRIPP has enabled us to build strong collaborative partnerships with organisations including the National Infusion and Vascular Access Society, the Association for Safe Aseptic Practice, the British Association of Urological Nurses, and the Association for Continence Professionals. Working alongside these partners has supported the development of high-quality resources, as well as the delivery of successful workshops and webinars attended by many IPS members.
Further webinars are planned for 2026, along with another workshop in 2027—so please look out for upcoming dates. In the meantime, a vascular access webinar titled “Optimising Training and Competency Using the DRIPP Tools” will take place on 21 April at 4:00pm. Book online here.
