Overactive Bladder: Who’s Counting?

Change is needed

We believe urgent action is needed to improve care for people with Overactive Bladder (OAB).

What is Overactive Bladder?

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common condition characterised by urgent and frequent urination, affecting many people across the UK. This can also include urge incontinence where there is involuntary leakage following an urgent need to urinate. These symptoms can significantly disrupt everyday activities, including sleep, work, and social life.

Find out more about OAB HERE.

How many people are affected?

There are an estimated 5 million people in England with OAB today and this is expected to rise to over 7 million by 2035.

Most of this increase will be the result of an ageing population. The proportion of those with OAB who are aged 65 and over is expected to rise from 60% to 70% in this period. Such increases will have knock on impacts on healthcare systems, with more primary care appointments, hospital admissions and demand in social care.

What’s the cost of OAB in England?

OAB can be very distressing and can significantly impact every aspect of a person’s life. From relationships and the ability to socialise, to whether a person is able to remain in employment.

OAB also has a significant cost to the NHS. It is estimated that OAB currently costs the healthcare system in England an estimated £3.7 billion and this will rise to over £5 billion by 2035. With growing numbers of people experiencing OAB, it’s adding additional strain to the health system. Change is needed.

Who’s Counting?

That’s why we’ve been working with partners to drive real change to improve outcomes for people experiencing OAB. We’re encouraging local health systems to take action to help join-up care for patients, unlock faster access to information, resources, specialist services and necessary treatments and to deliver best practice.

We’re delighted to be launching an infographic that provides details about the way OAB is currently managed in England and how we believe continence care could be improved. The infographic is based on the Who’s Counting report commissioned by Astellas in 2023 on the urgent need for improvements in OAB clinical practice and patient outcomes in the NHS. The infographic has been developed by Astellas with input and endorsement from The Urology Foundation.

Download our infographic!

Download our national infographic highlighting OAB data from across England, the story of a person experiencing OAB, and our recommendations for change HERE.

Astellas has also created their own national infographic and five local infographics with data and recommendations tailored to five individual Integrated Care Systems (ICS): 1) Birmingham & Solihull, 2) Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, 3) Devon, 4) Greater Manchester, 5) West Yorkshire. If you would like to receive these infographics, please contact Laura Thorne on lthorne@theurologyfoundation.org.

What’s next?

We want to drive change that will make a real different to the way people experiencing OAB are managed.

We’re sharing the infographics with those who can make a difference and hope that this will drive real change. We’ll be working with partners to talk to government, NHSE and parliamentarians about how progress in OAB can be the right move for people, for the NHS and to realise government ambitions on transitioning care from hospital settings to care closer to home.

More information

For further information on the infographics, please contact Laura Thorne on lthorne@theurologyfoundation.org