Minutes of the
Antimicrobial Resistance Group
Held at BIVDA, 1 Queen Anne’s Gate SW1H 9BT on Thursday 8th August 2013 at 11.00
1.
Attendees
Raj Debray
Chris Head-Jenner
James Cottam
Gill Webb
ThermoFisher
Becton Dickinson
Alere
BioMerieux
Doris-Ann Williams
Ian Summersgill
BIVDA
BIVDA (Minutes)
2.
Apologies
Mary Jo Kurth
Wajid Shafique
3.
Randox
Alere
Background & General Discussion
(11.15)
The meeting began with talk about recent developments, with a focus on the CMO’s recentlypublished report on Antimicrobial Resistance. The CMO is particularly focused on the topic and keen
to build a legacy, so it is an opportune time to bring members together to discuss options for
engagement & rebuilding BIVDA’s existing position paper.
Kevin Rooney, Professor of Care Improvement at the University of the West of Scotland, could help to
drive forward the adoption of better practice in antimicrobial stewardship, an area in which Scotland
is ahead of the rest of the UK. The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy had conducted an
awareness campaign and delivered a petition to Parliament which had received some attention.
The potential for gains from effective antimicrobial stewardship was discussed: France has been
successful in reducing the amount of antibiotics prescribed unnecessarily, though France prescribes
more liberally than the UK in general. Some tests such as those for pneumonia are being ruled as not
cost-effective because clinicians were not using the results of the test – this led to a short discussion
about the role of the whole care pathway in demonstrating the value of a particular diagnostic test.
Nordic countries also tend to have a lower rate of antibiotic prescription – however there is also a
difference in the cultural attitude towards use of drugs/prescription.
4.
Engagement & Stakeholders
There was some discussion of whether the CMO had authority to drive forward some of the changes
or whether it was more a matter of influence and acting as a magnet for stakeholders such as Public
Health E/S/W/NI.
It was agreed that the group would write to the CMO, raising the possibility of a stakeholder roundtable event including DH, PHE etc.
ACTION: DAW to write to the Chief Medical Officer on behalf of the group
There was disagreement in the group concerning the extent to which the media & the general public
(or representative groups thereof) could be involved in any attempt to increase the political capital of
antimicrobial resistance.
The Test, Target, Treat campaign for antimicrobial stewardship being run by Alere was cited as an
example of a directly public-facing campaign designed to raise awareness amongst the general
population.
It was agreed that members would consider possible case studies that could form the background to
a revised BIVDA position paper. Health Protection England maps outbreaks/resistance and might
therefore indicate areas where more intensive engagement could be beneficial.
ACTION: Group members to explore possible case studies of successful or unsuccessful examples of
antimicrobial stewardship to inform a BIVDA paper.
5.
Date of the next meeting
BIVDA’s imminent move prevented the group from being able to fix a firm date. It was agreed,
however, that its timing should be aligned as close as possible to the publication of DH’s five-year plan
for antimicrobial resistance.
6.
A.O.B.
There being no other business, the meeting was concluded at c13.45.