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Nearly half of pharmacists not tackling antibiotic stewardship

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Nearly half of pharmacists not tackling antibiotic stewardship

Pharmacists, who are ideally placed to interact with patients early on, must unite in order to facilitate change

Over 60 per cent of pharmacists believe that antibiotic stewardship is a high priority, but less than half have no measures in place to tackle it, according to a survey carried out for RB.

Over 80 per cent of pharmacists would like more training to help them undertake this role, and almost three quarters claimed to be under-utilised in this area. Experts at an antibiotic stewardship meeting agreed that single consistent message is vital to changing patient behaviour of antibiotic usage ahead of Antibiotics Awareness Day on November 18. The meeting, hosted by RB and held on October 6, saw experts debate the issue of antibiotic resistance, share best practice and develop solutions to help reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics in primary care.

There was consensus on the importance of better education regarding the likely duration of symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections, coupled with good advice on symptom management with OTC medicines, as the appropriate alternative to antibiotics. Also, these specialists agreed that greater collaboration among healthcare professionals was fundamental in helping tackle patient demands and over-prescribing. A ‘Call to Action’ report sharing findings from the meeting will follow later in the year to encourage greater collaboration and raise awareness of best practice initiatives that will drive greater and faster change in the wider healthcare community.

Meeting chair, Dr Martin Duerden, GP and clinical advisor on prescribing and evidence-based medicine for the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “We already know that this is a major concern with government firmly committed to tackling it, but we still see a relentless growth in the demand for, and the prescribing and overuse of antibiotics. This is why meetings such as these are crucial to developing collaborative and coordinated strategies to help address this escalating issue. Healthcare professionals, particularly pharmacists, who are ideally placed to interact with patients early on, must unite in order to facilitate change.”

John Smith, chief executive of the Proprietary Association of Great Britain, said: “A key driver to help reduce demands on GPs is to empower people to self-care, seeking advice from a pharmacist if needed. A big problem is that people don’t understand that antibiotics don’t treat viruses. We need one clear consistent message, from government, the NHS and healthcare professionals, to encourage people to self-care and drive them back into pharmacy to seek more suitable treatments for their symptoms.” 

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