Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to develop a sepsis strategy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The current UK National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance discusses how we have stewardship programmes in place for both primary and secondary care settings, comprising a range of activities and resources to ensure antimicrobials are used appropriately and to improve prescribing behaviours. A copy of the plan is available at the following link:
Our stewardship activities are not just focused on reducing prescribing but also on ensuring timely treatment where rapid treatment with antibiotics is essential to save lives and reduce the long-term consequences of serious infection, for example from sepsis.
Since publication of the 2015 cross-system Sepsis Action Plan, we have increased the number of patients being screened and treated for sepsis and, importantly, through the combined sepsis and AMR Commissioning for Quality and Innovation, increased the number of inpatients who have a clinical antibiotic review between 24 and 72 hours, reducing the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Jan. 22 2024
Source Page: Fluoroquinolone antibiotics: must now only be prescribed when other commonly recommended antibiotics are inappropriateFound: Fluoroquinolone antibiotics: must now only be prescribed when other commonly recommended antibiotics
Feb. 19 2024
Source Page: Point prevalence survey on HCAI, AMU and AMS in EnglandFound: There was a decline in use of all ‘Access’, ‘Watch’ and ‘Reserve’ antibiotics in NHS acute trusts, antibiotics
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics for prophylactic and metaphylactic use in British poultry farming, with a view to limiting antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals, while safeguarding animal welfare. It has been our position for many years that we do not support the routine or predictable use of antibiotics, including where antibiotics are used to compensate for inadequate farming practices. This applies to all types of antibiotic use (i.e those prescribed for treatment, metaphylactic purposes and for prophylactic purposes) because any antibiotic use may lead to an increased risk of resistance.
The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 are currently under review and the UK Government’s proposed new legal restrictions will prohibit antibiotic prophylaxis, in all but exceptional circumstances, in order to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use while also protecting animal welfare, and allowing changes to prescribing practices to be made sustainably. A public consultation on the proposed changes was held earlier this year, feedback is currently being analysed and considered, and a government response will be published in due course.
Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics for human use (which include fluoroquinolones) should only be used in animals as a last resort when no other antibiotics could be clinically effective and, wherever possible, based on antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate works closely with the British Poultry Council (BPC), an industry group which represents 90% of the meat poultry sector in the UK, on its antimicrobial stewardship efforts to replace, reduce and refine antibiotic use, by supporting good animal husbandry, hygiene and stockmanship. The BPC has a requirement that fluoroquinolones are only used as a last resort after alternative options have been explored. These actions have led to a 96% reduction in fluroquinolone use in meat poultry between 2014 and 2021, with fluoroquinolones representing just 0.3% of total antibiotic use in 2021.
Furthermore, when considering laying hens, antibiotic use data collected by the British Egg Industry Council, and representing 90% of the industry, has demonstrated no fluoroquinolone use since 2017.
Written Evidence Apr. 24 2024
Inquiry: Preterm BirthFound: before birth, then treating or managing the baby’s risk of GBS (preventing early-onset) relies on antibiotics
Mentions:
1: Lord Douglas-Miller (Con - Life peer) I am pleased to say that, in the farming community, we have reduced the use of antibiotics by over 50% - Speech Link
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support research into anti-microbial resistance.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including anti-microbial resistance (AMR).
Over the last five years, the NIHR’s programme funding for AMR has totalled £88 million. This includes research that aims to reduce the need for antibiotics, optimising their use and supporting the development of new antimicrobials. This does not include NIHR infrastructure, which is fundamental to supporting all health research.
The NIHR has recently launched a competition for new Health Protection Research Units, in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency and academia, which will include multidisciplinary research to inform the prevention and control of AMR.
Mentions:
1: Christina Rees (IND - Neath) improve, so I went to the emergency dentist, who took X-rays and could not find anything, but gave me antibiotics - Speech Link
2: Christina Rees (IND - Neath) The UK Sepsis Trust’s “Sepsis 6” care bundle and treatment pathway includes administering antibiotics - Speech Link
3: Maria Caulfield (CON - Lewes) It is critical that we conserve our antibiotics so that if an infection occurs, they remain as effective - Speech Link
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent estimate of the number and proportion of people who were given unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics.
Answered by Will Quince
No estimate has been made. Use of antimicrobials drives resistance, so it is important that they are used appropriately. The Government’s five year national action plan on tackling AMR focuses on optimising the use of antimicrobials, including a target to reduce antimicrobial use in humans by 15% by 2024.
The UK Health Security Agency has published tools and methodologies that can be used by clinicians to inform appropriate antibiotic use. This includes an audit tool to determine the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing at the individual patient level in acute NHS hospitals.
There have been several campaigns to inform the public about appropriate use of antibiotics including the ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign, which was launched in 2017 and relaunched again in November 2019. Members of the public should continue to take their doctor's advice on whether they need antibiotics or not.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with food (a) retailers and (b) producers onthe sale of chickens treated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with retailers or producers on the sale of chickens treated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics. There was an 89% reduction in fluroquinolone use in broiler chickens between 2014 and 2021, with fluoroquinolones representing just 0.4% of total antibiotic use in broilers in 2021.