MPs probe BPH and Prostatitis

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Men's Health, chaired by Dr Howard Stoate MP, has initiated an enquiry into BPH and Prostatitis.  They requested comments from the Prostate Research Campaign UK which we were happy to submit on August 28th.

The charity provided committee members with a thorough guide to the ways in which the management of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) has changed over the past forty years.  The key changes have been in medical therapies (pills for the prostate) and in minimally invasive surgical techniques.  In the treatment of Prostatitis there has sadly been very little progress in the treatment of this difficult condition.  The National Institute of Health has initiated a programme of research and development, but as yet very little useful information has emerged in management.

Prostate Research Campaign UK's main recommendations were:

There is an urgent and pressing need for research into prostatitis whose management is current highly unsatisfactory for most men.

Not enough is being done to educate and inform men of the symptoms and treatments for either BPH or Prostatitis.

In Primary Care, much remains to be done to raise the level of knowledge of family practitioners and supporting health care professionals about benign conditions and malignant disease.

The problems that occur in the treatment and care of men with BPH and prostatitis largely surround the tremendous workload of urologists.  There are unacceptable delays and the system of bringing patients back to the clinic to be informed of their diagnosis and started on therapy, is sub optimal.