26th May 2016
A new report issued recently has shown a significant drop in the prescription of antibiotics. NHS Improvement, the body overseeing foundation trusts and independent care providers, has found prescriptions for all types of antibiotic are down by over 2.6 million on the previous year; to around 34 million in 2015/16. Cutting targets have been exceed 'dramatically' at a rate of 7%, compared to the 1% target set by public health chiefs. The news comes after GPs were praised for hitting key 'Quality Premium' targets on antibiotic prescribing set for CCGs, ahead of schedule.
The report, 'Reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics', says: 'The national Patient Safety Team, newly hosted in NHS Improvement, has helped GPs in the NHS to dramatically reduce how often patients are being prescribed antibiotics unnecessarily, cutting the number of prescriptions down by over 2.6 million in one year alone as part of the national fight against antibiotic resistance.' RCGP chair Dr Maureen Baker commented on the 'significant drop' as a reflection of the hard work GPs were doing to improve appropriate prescribing, "despite the pressure GPs often face from patients to prescribing antibiotics". Dr Baker added that more needed to be done - including work to cut antibiotic use in other settings, such as agriculture, and to come up with new solutions. "This won't happen overnight and in the meantime, we need to continue to work together to make the public realise that prescribing antibiotics is not always the answer to treating minor, self-limiting illness."