WATCH: How you can play a part tackling resistance to antiobiotics; NHS Highland chief issues warning on antibiotics use; initiative ties in with European Antibiotic Awareness Day; 'over-prescribing' also an issue

TAKING antibiotics you don't need may mean they won't work for you and your family when you do.

The warning comes on European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD), part of a public health programme to raise awareness about the threat of antibiotic resistance and the importance of judicious use.

EAAD partners with EU professional and patient organisations with an interest in the best use of antibiotics and slowing antimicrobial resistance developing. NHS Highland will be marking the day with the launch of a video entitled Antibiotics and You, released by Talking Medicines, in partnership with NHS Highland and the Pebble Trust. The "patient-focused video" explains important facts about adherence to antibiotic regimes, when to take antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, the safe use and disposal of medicines and protecting our environment.

NHS Highland is working on several initiatives to optimise the prescribing of antibiotics to address concerns, expressed internationally, about the emergence of drug resistant bacteria. Budgetary pressures created by expenditure on unnecessary medicines and harm to wildlife and the environment are two further consequences of over-prescribing.

Sharon Pfleger, consultant in pharmaceutical public health, NHS Highland, said: “Taking antibiotics when you do not need them may mean they will not work for you, your family and others in the future. By taking advice from your doctor or pharmacist on whether you need antibiotics or not is the first step in helping to keep antibiotics working, our NHS funded and our environment healthy.”

“The latest data confirm that across the European Union the number of patients infected by resistant bacteria is increasing so it is vital to spread the message to health professionals and the public that we all have a role to play in helping to keep antibiotics effective for the use of future generations.”

Sharon and colleagues from NHS Highland are part of a multi-agency partnership, the One Health Breakthrough Partnership, which is active in raising awareness about the impact of pharmaceuticals – including antibiotics - in our environment. Ground-breaking work is under way to minimise the harmful impact of pharmaceuticals discharged into waste water treatment plants. Medicines are increasingly being found in waterways in concentrations 10-20 times greater than they had been 20 years ago.

Enabling patients to connect with their medicines through an app is an approach taken by Talking Medicines. Their Medsmart App, aimed at users of medicines, helps people manage their own medicines and it supports additional educational content including the ‘Antibiotics and You’ video www.gomedsmart/antibioticsandyou

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