Summary
Of those attending primary care each year, 25%–30% have respiratory tract infections and 10% of women have urinary tract infections. In secondary care, at any given time, antibiotics are prescribed to 34% of inpatients and over 20% of bed days in 2023-24 were attributable to infectious disease or infections, at a cost to the NHS of £5.9 billion.
In the UK in 2019 there were 87,500 deaths involving bacterial infection, second only to ischaemic heart disease in burden. Of those deaths, 35,200 were associated with AMR; for comparison, there were 15,300 deaths from breast cancer.
AMR leads to treatment failure, resulting in repeat GP appointments, A&E conveyances, hospital admissions, intensive care unit admissions, extended length-of-stay and higher morbidity and mortality for patients. AMR poses a strategic threat to achievement of trust and ICB core objectives: to improve patients’ access to general practice; to reduce the time people wait for elective care; and to improve A&E waiting times and ambulance response times.
Content
NHS England has brought together resources to help prevent AMR and reduce its impact on health and care services.
They will be particularly relevant to:
directors of infection prevention and control in NHS trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs)
NHS staff in specialist AMR prevention roles, including medical microbiology and infectious diseases, infection prevention and control (IPC), antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and infection diagnostics
ICB commissioners, and those responsible for overseeing and delivering their 5-year plans
regional teams
regional directors of public health.
Further reading on the hub:
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