NEWS
ANTIBIOTICS AWARENESS TAKES CENTRE STAGE
The Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) Scottish Medicines Consortium have teamed up with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to highlight opportunities for Pharmacists in Scotland to support European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) 2015 and contribute to the fi ght against antimicrobial resistance.
Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health issue and an important threat to the future of healthcare.
This year, the fi rst World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) took place between 16th and 22nd November; alongside other campaigns including European Antibiotic Awareness Day, and Antibiotics Awareness Week in USA, Australia and Canada which have been in place for several years.
Tackling the over-consumption of antibiotics is one of the greatest public health challenges of this generation, Scotland’s Health Secretary, Shona Robison, said adding that the rise of drug-resistant infections is an issue that must be tackled in Scotland, and around the world.
Despite recent reductions in antibiotic prescribing in primary care in Scotland - which is estimated to account for 80% of all antibiotic prescription - just over 4 million prescriptions were given out in the community in Scotland in 2014.
“Antibiotic resistance is a very real and very present threat that we are determined to tackle. Inaction could mean the loss of effective antibiotics which could undermine our ability to fi ght infectious diseases,” she said.
“We must act now to reduce the unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics and we all have our part to play in that – whether as a patient or as a medical professional.
“Action is also needed at a local, national and global level to fi rstly
14 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
improve the knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial resistance, secondly conserve and steward the effectiveness of existing treatments and thirdly stimulate the development of new antibiotics, diagnostics and therapies.
The Health Secretary visited NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde’s new state- of-the art microbiology laboratories at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. The service diagnoses infection in patients using many highly complex and specialised methods. Microscopic fi lms, bacterial cultures and test results are analysed and reported and clinicians use those results to treat infectious disease in patients.
In excess of 1.3 million samples per annum are processed in the laboratories across the three sites (380,000 at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital) which are staffed by medical staff, healthcare scientists, clinical support workers and administration staff.
NHS Scotland has been supporting EAAD since 2009 with a range of activities and resources in hospital and community settings. This year the key activity was the Antibiotic Guardian campaign led by Public Health England which means encouraging all healthcare staff, patients and the public to make a personal pledge to help preserve antibiotics for future generations.
The Antibiotic Guardian campaign was fi rst launched in 2014 in support of EAAD and was a great success, with over 10,000 individuals
(members of the public and healthcare professionals) making a pledge about how they will personally use antibiotics more prudently, and becoming Antibiotic Guardians.
This year, PHE’s goal is to reach 100,000 registered antibiotic guardians by 31 March 2016 and SAPG will be utilising NHS Scotland versions of the Antibiotic Guardian resources throughout health and care settings across Scotland to support this aim.
This goal would be possible if one in every 25 NHS clinical staff, one in every 100 NHS non-clinical staff, and one in every 1000 of the population across the UK registered to become Antibiotic Guardians.
Pharmacists and other Pharmacy team members are able to choose to make one of the following pledges:
• I will check that antibiotic prescriptions comply with local guidance and query those that do not
• Every time a customer presents with a self-limiting respiratory infection I will use the patient information leafl et to explain the potential duration of illness and how to treat their symptoms
• When handing out a prescription that includes antibiotics, I will inform the patients of dose and duration and to take their antibiotics exactly as prescribed and to return any unused antibiotics to a pharmacy for safe disposal
• When customers pick up an
antibiotic prescription, I will encourage them to take the Antibiotic Guardian quiz online and to choose their own pledge to become Antibiotic Guardians.
To make your pledge, please visit:
http://antibioticguardian.com
In 2014 a pad of self-care leafl ets was distributed to all community pharmacies in Scotland and these provided an opportunity to give personalised advice to patients about symptom management and likely symptom duration as well as warning signs that they should consult their doctor.
Further supplies of the pads of leafl ets are available on request from the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group.
Meanwhile, together with SAPG, Robert Gordon University is currently taking forward a research project where data collection will be conducted starting in November by their undergraduate 4th years.
The purpose is ‘To explore the views and experiences of community pharmacy team members of using the self help guide distributed for European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) 2014.’
They are hoping to recruit community Pharmacists and other pharmacy staff to evaluate EAAD resources and so Pharmacists are being encouraged to support both the fi ght against antibiotic resistance and the research being taken forward by participating.
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