The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a new draft guideline to help change people’s behaviour to reduce antimicrobial resistance and stop the spread of resistant microbes. This new draft guideline complements existing NICE guidelines on antimicrobial stewardship, published in August.
The draft guideline includes steps that can be taken to help make people aware of the importance of using antibiotics correctly and the dangers associated with their overuse and misuse. It also includes measures to prevent and control infection that can stop people needing antibiotics or spreading infection to others.
Recommendations include:
- Interventions to reduce inappropriate antibiotic demand and use. These include providing information to the public on self-limiting conditions such as colds, flu and earache, that people often wrongly think require antibiotics.
- Advice in healthcare settings about self-limiting conditions, appropriate antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance. This includes giving people advice and written information about the consequences of overusing antimicrobials, how long their symptoms are likely to last with and without antimicrobials and how to manage their condition without them, including being aware of when they should ask again for medical advice.
- Highlighting that GPs or A&E should not be the first point of call for treatment and information for self-limiting conditions. Instead, people should be encouraged to use pharmacies and other reliable health resources such as NHS Choices.
- National and local information campaigns aimed at the general public to prevent infections occurring and stop them from spreading. These should include advice on why it is important to wash hands (eg: cold and flu viruses can be transmitted on hands), when hands should be washed (such as after using the loo, before eating, before touching the eyes or mouth, and after touching an animal), and how hands should be washed.
Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and health and social care director at NICE, said: “The over-use of antibiotics in the last 30 years has led to microbial resistance, and with so few new antibiotics being developed, this could result in once-treatable infections becoming fatal in years to come.
“This new draft guideline focuses on interventions to help change people’s behaviour, and reduce antimicrobial resistance. It also aims to increase awareness, to both the public and healthcare professionals, of the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, and the risks this could involve.”
To access the guideline, visit: www.nice.org.uk
