Antimicrobial Stewardship: Development and Pilot of an Organisational Peer-to-Peer Review Tool to Improve Service Provision in Line with National Guidance.

Antimicrobial resistance continues to be a considerable threat to global public health due to the persistent inappropriate use of antibiotics. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs are essential in reducing the growth and spread of antibiotic resistance, in an environment which lacks incentives for the development of new antibiotics. Over the years, a variety of resources have been developed to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship.

Development and implementation of a national antimicrobial stewardship surveillance system, with open access data sharing.

Background: Public Health England (PHE) developed an antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) surveillance system and conducted a national pilot to test the feasibility of centrally collecting data from AMS audits performed by NHS hospital trusts. The system was simplified, focusing on requirements of the NHS AMR CQUIN (Commissioning for Quality and Innovation; a financial incentive quality improvement scheme).

Aim: To present results and user feedback from the national pilot, and results from using the AMS surveillance system as part of the AMR CQUIN.

Adaptation of the WHO Essential Medicines List for national antibiotic stewardship policy in England: being AWaRe.

Objectives: Appropriate use of and access to antimicrobials are key priorities of global strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The WHO recently classified key antibiotics into three categories (AWaRe) to improve access (Access), monitor important antibiotics (Watch) and preserve effectiveness of 'last resort' antibiotics (Reserve). This classification was assessed for antibiotic stewardship and quality improvement in English hospitals.

Measuring Appropriate Antibiotic Prescribing in Acute Hospitals: Development of a National Audit Tool Through a Delphi Consensus.

This study developed a patient-level audit tool to assess the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in acute National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the UK. A modified Delphi process was used to evaluate variables identified from published literature that could be used to support an assessment of appropriateness of antibiotic use. At a national workshop, 22 infection experts reached a consensus to define appropriate prescribing and agree upon an initial draft audit tool.