At a summit today in London, hospital doctors, nurses, GPs, and pharmacists are calling for binding national 'rollback' targets on antibiotic prescribing to halt the relentless rise in antibiotic resistance.
The impact of antibiotic resistance has been compared to climate change in terms of its impact on human health. Healthcare without effective antibiotics is unthinkable to those who have enjoyed the benefits of modern medicine. The stark reality of a world where simple infection and routine surgery become deadly is ahead unless we take action now.
Leading experts from across the professional spectrum are calling for national measures to be implemented across the NHS without delay.
The headline measure that is being called for is to roll back total consumption of antibiotics to 2010 levels in both community and hospital settings.
The mandate for this action is clear. Public Health England reported in October that between 2010 and 2013 there was a 6% increase in the combined antibiotic prescribing of GPs and hospitals.
The report showed a wide variation in both prescribing and antibiotic usage across England. Crucially, there is more antibiotic resistance in geographical areas that have higher rates of prescribing. Reducing the use of antibiotics is one of many important actions that need to be taken to reduce antibiotic resistance. Today’s 'Antimicrobial Resistance Summit' will move the debate on to how we can take practical actions in the hospital, surgery, clinic and pharmacy to make this happen.
Philip Howard, Consultant Pharmacist in antimicrobials and spokesperson for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said:
Antibiotics save lives. Anyone who comes to my hospital with an infection will get an antibiotic promptly when it is the right choice of treatment. I believe we will be able to meet these challenging targets by ensuring we all use antibiotics more carefully, and by fine tuning or stopping the antibiotic when test results are known. Where an infection is proven, we need to complete the course of antibiotics. This will lead to better patient care as well as reduced resistance. I believe these two aims are compatible and mutually supportive.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Lead on healthcare associated infections for the Royal College of Physicians said:
Each and every doctor and prescriber has a responsibility to prescribe the right antibiotic to the right patient at the right time. However we must reduce prescribing to the lowest safest levels. In primary care evidence from clinical trials show that less antibiotics are used if GPs use back-up (delayed) prescriptions. In secondary care, prescribers should review prescriptions daily and consider whether antibiotics can be safely stopped or a narrow-spectrum antibiotic prescribed.
For more information, please contact Morgan Evans, RCP communications and new media adviser, on 020 3075 1468 / 0779 508 8253, or email Morgan.Evans@rcplondon.ac.uk