Whitchurch part of national pilot to tackle growing concerns over antibiotic resistance
Whitchurch and its surrounding area is taking part in a new Public Health England campaign launched today (Monday 13 February 2017).
Keep Antibiotics Working
The pilot campaign is being trialled in the north west of England, and highlights the dangers of taking antibiotics when you don’t need them.
Public Health England’s ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign aims to raise public awareness and understanding of Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) and to reduce demand.
It is estimated that 5,000 deaths are caused every year in England because antibiotics no longer work for some infections. Antibiotic resistant infections are caused by the unnecessary and inappropriate use of antibiotics, such as not taking them as prescribed or saving them for later use. The campaign encourages patients to take their doctor’s advice on when antibiotics are required.
Antibiotics don’t work for everything
Dr Irfan Ghani, Shropshire Council’s consultant in public health, said:
“Taking antibiotics when you don’t need them encourages dangerous bacteria that live inside you to become resistant.This means they are less likely to work for you when you really need them, such as for serious infections. You can also pass on antibiotic resistant bacteria to your loved ones. When it comes to antibiotics, take your doctor’s advice.”
Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health and well-being, and Chair of Shropshire’s Health and Well-Being Board, added:
“Antibiotics are important for treating serious bacterial infections but they are being used for everyday viral infections, such as colds or flu, where they are not effective, so ask your GP or pharmacist for the best treatment for you.”
What antibiotics work for, and what they don’t work for
A powerful film shows the possible consequences of failing to take action on antibiotic resistance – showing a world in which common infections, minor injuries and routine operations will become far riskier. httpv://youtu.be/7PhmyNBWGik
The campaign will run in the Granada region on TV, radio, press and will be supported by local GP surgeries and pharmacies, social media and PR.
For further information on antibiotic resistance search ‘NHS antibiotics’.
Further information
The key aims of the pilot are to:
- Alert the public to the issue of AMR
- Reduce public expectation for antibiotics
- Support healthcare professionals (HCP) to have conversations about why antibiotics might not be appropriate
Q: What is the Public Health England antibiotic resistance pilot campaign?
A: A new pilot campaign from Public Health England is launching in the north west of England to help educate people that antibiotics don’t work for everything and to raise awareness of the risks of taking antibiotics when you don’t need them. The campaign encourages people to take their doctor’s advice on when antibiotics are required (e.g. don’t save them for later/share with family). If you take antibiotics when you don’t need them, the dangerous bacteria inside you can become resistant to antibiotics. This means they are less likely to work for you when you really need them, such as for serious infections like pneumonia, urinary tract infections and meningococcal meningitis. The campaign will be supported with local advertising, partnership activity and PR from Monday 13 February in the north west for a total of 8 weeks.
Q: Why is Public Health England launching a campaign on antibiotic resistance?
A: The Government has committed to action to tackle the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is a real threat to us all. Antibiotic resistance occurs when antibiotics lose their ability to effectively control or kill growing bacteria and is caused by the unnecessary and inappropriate use of antibiotics, such as not taking them as prescribed, or saving them for later use. Antibiotics are important for treating serious bacterial infections such as pneumonia, meningococcal meningitis and sepsis but they are being used for everyday viral infections, such as colds or flu, where they are not effective. Without urgent, coordinated action, we are heading towards a time in which common infections, minor injuries and routine operations will become far riskier.
Q: What impact are you expecting the antibiotic resistance campaign to have?
A: The aim of the campaign is to help educate people that antibiotics don’t work for everything and to raise awareness of the risks of taking antibiotics when you don’t need them. The campaign will encourage people to take their healthcare professional’s advice on when antibiotics are required (e.g. use over the counter remedies to help symptoms, don’t save them for later/share with family).
Q: Why is this campaign being piloted in north west of England?
A: We want to test the impact of this approach to inform any future plans. The north west was chosen as it is an area of high prescribing. Between April and June 2016, north west residents were prescribed over 1.2 million courses of antibiotics, the most per head of any region in the UK.
Q: Are you working with the NHS?
A: Public Health England will be working with GPs surgeries and local pharmacies across the north west to display posters and leaflets at the point of prescription and to encourage people to get advice from their pharmacist for common viral infections such as colds and flu.
The role of GPs
Q: Do you risk preventing people who need antibiotics from going to the GP?
A: This campaign encourages patients to trust the advice of their doctor, nurse or pharmacist about the right treatment for them and to inform them of the risks of antibiotic resistance. The campaign does not discourage patients from seeking medical help from their doctor if antibiotics are necessary.
Q: Why is this campaign aimed at patients rather than GPs?
A: Recent guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) outlined that ‘mass media’ campaigns in combination with locally targeted community activities, including those focused on prescribing practice by healthcare professionals, have had some substantial reductions in antibiotic prescribing.6
The antibiotic resistance pilot campaign from Public Health England is one element of the work to combat antibiotic resistance. Everyone has a role to play to help tackle antibiotic resistance and it is important to educate people that antibiotics don’t work for everything and to raise awareness of the risks of taking antibiotics when you don’t need them.
Public Health England also continues to work with GPs and other clinicians. Raising public awareness of the risks of taking antibiotics when you don’t need them, and encouraging people to only use antibiotics correctly, and when prescribed, will help to reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics.
Q: What is being done to reduce prescribing of antibiotics by GPs?
A: Initiatives such as encouraging GPs to reduce prescribing, better education and measurement of how antibiotics are used all contribute to better use of antibiotics. NHS England and NHS Improvement are also working with GPs and hospitals to encourage that the right patient gets the right dose at the right time for the right condition.
NICE guidance outlines appropriate antibiotic prescribing for GPs.5 In 2015 there was further guidance published by NHS England and between April and December 2015, two million fewer prescriptions were dispensed compared to the same period in 2014.6
In addition, raising public awareness of the risks of taking antibiotics when you don’t need them, and encouraging people to only use antibiotics correctly, and when prescribed, will help to reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics.
Antibiotic resistance
Q: What are antibiotics?
A: Antibiotics are drugs used to fight bacterial infection, but are of no use against everyday viral infections, such as cold or flu. They are a vital tool for modern medicine, not only for the treatment of infections, such as kidney infections and pneumonia but also to treat infections during chemotherapy, caesarean sections and other surgery.
Q: How do they work?
A: Antibiotics are important for treating serious bacterial infections such as pneumonia, meningococcal meningitis and sepsis. They work by killing bacteria or preventing them from reproducing and spreading. However there are many types of antibiotics which work in different ways
Q: What are viral infections, and can they be treated by antibiotics?
A: These are infections that are caused by a virus rather than bacteria. Viral infections include most coughs, sore throats, most ear infections, flu and the common cold. Antibiotics aren’t effective against these conditions and your body can usually fight these infections on its own.
Q: What is antibiotic resistance?
A: Antibiotic resistance occurs when an antibiotic loses its ability to effectively control or kill growing bacteria. Bacteria, not humans become antibiotic resistant. When a bacteria with antibiotic resistance causes an infection this is more difficult to treat, and the antibiotic used to treat the infection is no longer effective.
Antimicrobial resistance is a broader term, encompassing resistance to drugs to treat infections caused by other microbes as well, such as parasites (e.g. malaria), viruses (e.g. HIV) and fungi (e.g. Candida).
Q: Can you treat antibiotic resistance?
A: No, you cannot treat antibiotic resistance.
Q: What causes antibiotic resistance?
A: When a bacteria with antibiotic resistance causes an infection this is more difficult to treat, and the antibiotic used to treat the infection is no longer effective. Antibiotic resistant infections are caused by the unnecessary and inappropriate use of antibiotics, such as not taking them as prescribed, or saving them for later use. It is estimated that 5,000 deaths are caused every year in England because antibiotics no longer work for some infections. Common conditions like kidney infections and pneumonia have already started to become more difficult to treat.
Q: Is there any guidance on antibiotic resistance?
A: In January 2017, NICE and PHE published new guidance to help educate the general public in how they can contribute in the battle against antimicrobial resistance.6 The guidance recommends all children and young people, from pre-school to university age, be taught the importance of hand washing and managing common infections themselves. People who are unsure whether they need antimicrobials or not should be directed to NHS 111, the NHS Choices website or local pharmacies.
The recommendations also include not buying prescription-only antimicrobials online, sharing them with others or using them as preventive measure against becoming ill on holiday. The NICE guidance also outline that any leftover antimicrobial medicine should not be kept for use at another time or disposed of by flushing the down the sink or toilet. Medicines can be taken to pharmacies where they can be disposed of safely.
Q: What are the dangers of antibiotic resistance?
A: Without urgent, coordinated action, we are heading towards a time in which common infections, minor injuries and routine operations will become far riskier.Common conditions like kidney infections and pneumonia have already started to become untreatable.
It is estimated that 5,000 deaths are caused every year in England because antibiotics no longer work for some infections. This could increase to 10 million deaths globally every year by 2050 from common infections or from routine operations – that’s around 160 deaths every day.
Q: Can antibiotics cause me harm?
A: If you take antibiotics when you don’t need them, it allows bacteria to build up resistance.3 This means, they’re less likely to work in the future, when you really might need them.3 Antibiotics can cause side effects such as rashes, thrush, stomach pains, diarrhoea, reactions to sunlight, other symptoms, or even vomiting if you drink alcohol with some. It remains a fact that antibiotics are a still a vital tool for GPs and healthcare professionals to help treat serious bacterial infections and to help ward off infections.
Q: How prevalent is resistance?
A: It is estimated that 5,000 deaths are caused every year in England because antibiotics no longer work for some infections. Common conditions like kidney infections and pneumonia have already started to become untreatable. We know that at least one in five urinary tract infections are resistant to antibiotics that are commonly used to treat them. At least one in fifty urinary tract infections are resistant to all tablet antibiotics.
Q: What is the antibiotic consumption rate in England and the north west?
A: Antibiotic consumption in England has continuously been on the rise until recently and increased antibiotic prescribing is fuelling increased resistance in bacteria.
Antibiotic prescribing in both hospitals and the community has decreased by 4.3 per cent from 40.7 million to 38.5 million between 2014 and 2015. Whilst these figures represent the first every decline in prescription of antibiotics across the whole healthcare system, the rates of antibiotic resistant infections continue to rise.5 In relation to the north west, Merseyside has the highest rate of antibiotic use in England.
Q: What strains of bacteria have the most resistance to antibiotics?
A: Across Europe, an estimated 25,000 people die each year as a result of hospital infections caused by the following 5 resistant bacteria:
o Escherichia coli (E. coli)
o Klebsiella pneumoniae (K.Pneumoniae)
o Enterococcus faecium
o Pseudomonas aeruginosa
o Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Q: Is there a plan to roll this campaign out nationally?
A: The pilot will be evaluated to inform future planning which may include a national campaign later in 2017.
Q: What is the target audience for the antibiotic resistance campaign?
A: The campaign is aimed at individuals most likely to use antibiotics in the north west (Granada TV region), but more specifically, women aged 20-45 who tend to have primary responsibility for family health as well as older men and women aged 50+, who have recurrent conditions and high levels of contact with GPs.
