News

Important update for Medena Catheter users

Updated 31 January 2023

Further to our previous update on 13, December 2022, we have been notified by Wellspect that the Medena catheter is now available to order. Product codes remain the same.

If you experience any difficulty in obtaining supplies, please contact Wellspect Ltd on 01453 791 763.


Updated 13 December 2022

After weeks of uncertainty, the UK-based supplier/manufacturer Wellspect has agreed to restart production of the Medena catheter.

Petya Marinova, St Mark’s Hospital’s lead nurse (pouch and stomacare), said: “We have been in close discussions with Wellspect and helping with whatever we can and they have agreed to restart production of the Medena catheter in the next two months“.

“It will be produced by a different company (YourRad AB in Sweden), but the design remains the same and Wellspect will continue as UK distributor. All existing Medena product codes should remain the same.”

Meanwhile, the St Mark’s pouchcare team have been analysing the results of trials on a similar product – the Marlen catheter. “If the Marlen catheter company decides to go ahead with introducing the Marlen product to the UK market it will take about 9 to 12 months,” said Petya.

“Meanwhile if someone is running low on catheters, our St Mark’s pouchcare team has enough Medena catheters to send emergency stock to whoever may need them.”

THIS IS FANTASTIC NEWS FOR ALL THE J-POUCH AND KOCK POUCH PATIENTS THAT RELY ON THE MEDENA CATHETER!


Updated 15 July 2022

Would you like to particpate in trial of a potential replacement product?

A significant number of J pouch owners use the Medina Catheter to assist with emptying their pouch. Following the announcement that the Medina Catheter is being withdrawn from production, we are pleased to announce that a potential replacement product has been identified and the Pouch Nurse team at St. Mark’s Hospital is now in the process of starting a trial with the new Marlen catheter.

They are currently working closely with the company to introduce the product in the UK, including Drug Tariff approval.

The plan is to start officially trialling the Marlen catheters, hopefully at the beginning of August (pending delivery and logistics).  

We wish to help them by identifying existing medina catheter users who would like to participate in the trial. They will be looking for a small sample of 10-15 people initially.  

All participants would need to provide feedback and agree for their anonymous testimony to be shared and used in research. 

If you are interested in participating in this trial, would you please send your details to info@pouchsupport.org. Further details will be provided in due course.


Updated 24 November 2021

The following response was received from the marketing manager at Wellspect on 5 November 2021

We are still actively looking at potential alternative products. We have one promising option we are exploring at the moment, although it is not currently available in the UK. If it proves suitable, the next step would be to find a UK distributer willing to take it on. I have kept your contact details and will let you know how this progresses. 

In the meantime, we have sufficient stock of the Ileostomy catheter and have not yet taken a decision on the eventual date for discontinuation in the UK. On current usage rates we have significantly more than 6 months available. While I completely understand their concern, I would urge all users to continue to order as normal.


Posted 15 June 2021

Unfortunately, our ileostomy catheter is produced in very small volumes and global demand is both low and in steady decline. We have therefore had to take the difficult decision to discontinue this product.

At current UK usage rates we will have sufficient stock to continue supply for a minimum of 6 months. While there are no direct alternatives currently available on the UK Drug Tariff, we are actively looking at products with other manufacturers/suppliers which may prove suitable.

We’ll aim to keep you informed regarding an exact date after which the product will no longer be available on prescription and also if there is any progresses with alternative manufactures/suppliers.

In the meantime, I’d like to extend my apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.


We have responded explaining that, while they label the product an “ileostomy catheter”, it is in practise also used by many J Pouch (and other pouch) owners, and the planned discontinuance is causing much distress in the pouch community.

We will keep you informed of any updates in particular with regard to a replacement product.

On that subject, Theresa Parr (RLG committee member) has for some time been an advocate of the Aquaflush system as an alternative to the Medina Catheter. It is also available on prescription. See here for further information.

Gary Bronziet