Antibiotic Guardian is a UK-wide campaign which aims to improve behaviours around antibiotic prescribing and use by increasing knowledge about antibiotic use. The campaign supports the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024, which builds upon the achievements of the previous 5-year action plan as it sets out to contain and control AMR.

The campaign, which takes a One Health approach, calls on everyone in the UK (the public, animal and human healthcare communities) to become Antibiotic Guardians by choosing one simple pledge about how they will make better use of these vital medicines.

PHE has produced resources to support local and social media campaigns, which are available to download from GOV.UK.

Antibiotic Guardian roadshows

To ensure that the information and knowledge on Antibiotic Stewardship and Infection Prevention and Control are disseminated to those organisations and individuals practising healthcare across the nation, PHE run educational workshops to provide guidance, resources and information for practitioners on topics associated with antibiotic awareness.

These events give the opportunity to understand how you and your organisation could support combat the global challenge faced by antibiotic resistance whilst gaining advice, support and resources to inform patients and staff.

PHE has written to various organisations about EAAD, WAAW and the Antibiotic Campaign.

PHE has created a number of resources to support local and social media campaigns including:

• key messages on antibiotic use – guidance on how to use antibiotics responsibly for patients, animal keepers and pet owners. PHE has also produced a short video to help explain the problem of antibiotic resistance;
• resources toolkit for healthcare professionals in England – provides guidance on how to use antibiotic awareness resources to support the Antibiotic Guardian campaign and local initiatives;
• quizzes and crosswords – downloadable documents on antibiotic resistance, which can be used by the public and healthcare professionals;
• posters and leaflets – downloadable materials to support antibiotic awareness campaigns in the UK;
• treating your infection leaflets – downloadable leaflets to be shared with patients by out of hour prescribers and community pharmacists during consultations advising on infection self-care;
• Antibiotic Guardian email signature – Guidance on how to add this can be found in the resources toolkit (page 56); and
• Pack of infographics – to tell the story of who is prescribing antibiotics, how many and what type of antibiotics are being prescribed, and how to encourage responsible use of the drugs.

Resources for Keep Antibiotics Working are also available to print or order from PHE and include posters, leaflets, and press adverts. Full details of the items that are available are available on the Public Health England Campaign Resources website.

The blog ‘10 reasons you should be worried about antibiotic resistance’ can also be shared in this way.

Example social media messages for the campaign can also be found in the Resources toolkit (page 26-29).

Twitter

If you use Twitter to promote the campaign, remember to use the #AntibioticGuardian hashtag and the #KeepAntibioticsWorking hashtag.

If you are on Twitter and are an Antibiotic Guardian you can also add a Twibbon to your profile picture to show your support for the campaign. 

Leaflet

In 2014, the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) ran a ‘Use antibacterials wisely’ campaign, which was recreated into a leaflet for 2015/16 outlining some challenges to increase awareness of antibacterial resistance.

Distance learning

The CPPE distance learning programme ‘Antibacterial resistance – a global threat to public health’ is also available and can be downloaded as a PDF.

Online learning

• CPPE offers a wide range of learning activities to support pharmacy professionals engage with their role in antimicrobial stewardship.
• The e-learning programme Reducing Antimicrobial Resistance: An Introduction provides an overview of how to tackle AMR, key facts about AMR and describes the important role everyone working in a health and social care environment has in tackling it.
• PHE and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) have worked with primary care colleagues to develop a series of seven free TARGET antibiotics webinars. Originally hosted as live webinars, these learning modules are now available as un-facilitated learning courses, each containing presentations, recorded panel discussions and a host of referenced material and learning resources.
• There is also a TARGET antibiotics toolkit, which is aimed at primary care colleagues. The toolkit includes training resources as well as information leaflets to provide to patients.
• Future Learn has a free six-week online course on Antimicrobial Stewardship: Managing Antibiotic Resistance.

Other resources

Other CPD resources on antimicrobial prescribing can be found on the GOV.UK website. 

• PSNC – National audit data reiterates community pharmacy’s role in medicines optimisation (January 2017)
• The Antibiotic resistance: multi-country public awareness survey, commissioned by WHO, asked 10,000 members of the public across 12 countries about their use of antibiotics, knowledge of antibiotics and of antibiotic resistance.
  The survey reveals common misconceptions and misunderstandings including the belief that individuals are not at risk of a drug-resistant infection if they personally take their antibiotics as prescribed.
• Specialist Pharmacy Service – NICE Bites – Antimicrobial stewardship: changing risk-related behaviours in the general population.
  NICE Bites is a monthly prescribing bulletin from the North West Medicines Information Centre which summarises key prescribing points from NICE guidance.  Sections covered include; managing self-limiting infections, when antimicrobials are prescribed/supplied, general advice, self-care, hand-washing, and use of antimicrobial medicines in the following settings – primary care, community pharmacy teams, CCGs, public health teams, pre-school settings, schools, educational and residential settings for young people.
• PHE has published a number of editions of Health Matters that focus on AMR:
  • Health Matters – tackling antimicrobial resistance
  • Health Matters: Your antimicrobial resistance toolkit
  • Health Matters – your questions on antimicrobial resistance
  • Health Matters – Your questions on preventing infections and reducing AMR
• PHE has published AMR local indicators – These profiles contain a selection of data on AMR and Healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) related indicators. These data include trends for antibiotic prescribing in primary care and HCAI in acute NHS Trusts.
• Links to support for development and commissioning of AMR-related services can be found on the Service development tools and publications hub on the PSNC website.