Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS treatment measures to deal with antibiotic resistant infections; and if he will make a statement.
Ben Gummer
Patient safety is of primary importance to the National Health Service. An integral part of this focus on safety is work to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance and preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are currently effective against resistant infections.
There is mandatory surveillance of resistant infections such as meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile and E.coli within the NHS and data are published by Public Health England on a monthly basis. This transparency of data has ensured that NHS organisations are focused on minimising the number of resistant infections, and identifying and dealing with patients suffering from such resistant infections appropriately.
The NHS has also implemented a Public Health England screening protocol to identify people suffering from carbapenem resistant infections so that adequate treatment measures can be implemented in a timely way. Carbapenems are a powerful group of broad spectrum (penicillin-related) antibiotics.
The NHS vaccination programmes have also proved effective at tackling resistance through reducing the incidence of certain diseases. NHS England will continue to work with Public Health England to implement the national vaccination programmes successfully.
In addition, to these existing measures, we are introducing a set of indicators which specifically focusses on resistant infections. These indicators will enable NHS organisations to identify their priorities concerning resistance and take appropriate local action. To support this we will highlight to NHS organisations key actions they can take. These include best practice on controlling levels of resistance and reducing levels of antimicrobial prescribing, and guidance on general infection prevention and control standards.
