In its report on catheters, the Rapid Review Panel refers to a recent report by the international Cochrane Collaborative which highlighted that ‘the results suggest that the use of BARDEX(R) I.C. silver alloy indwelling catheters for hospitalised adults short-term reduces the risk of catheter acquired urinary tract infection. The relative risk of symptomatic urinary tract infection was 40% lower than if a standard catheter had been used.’ Therefore, I concluded that the RRP is a necessary step in the device evaluation process, but now I’m finding that’s not necessarily the case. And just because a product is ‘approved’ by the RRP it does not guarantee the NHS will adopt it. So what is the point of the Rapid Review Panel?