Charter House
Parkway
Welwyn Garden City
AL8 6JL
Email: england.pharmacy-athsm@nhs.net
Direct line: 01138 248830
November 2014
TO : ALL COMMUNITY PHARMACY CONTRACTORS
IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND SOUTH MIDLANDS AREA
Dear Colleague,
Health Promotion Programme for Community Pharmacies 2014-2015
As you know participation in Health Promotion Campaigns is an important part of the Terms of Service
for Community Pharmacy Contractors.
The Health Promotion Campaign for November focuses on Antibiotic Awareness to coincide with
European Antibiotics awareness day on 18th November 2014. The campaign will run for the whole of
November 2014.
Both healthcare professionals and other pharmacy team members can sign up to make a pledge to be
antibiotic guardians here: http://antibioticguardian.com/
Further resources and materials to promote the key messages about the importance of antibiotic
stewardship can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/european-antibiotic-awareness-day-resources
Antibiotic Awareness
This campaign focuses on the responsible use of antibiotic. Pharmacists and their staff will want to
make patients aware that requesting and/or taking antibiotics for the wrong reasons such as against
colds or flu will provide no benefit and will only increase antibiotic resistance. Those taking antibiotics
should also be reminded of the importance of the correct use of antibiotics; to take the correct dose at
the right time and for the correct duration. The target audience is all patients. Please share this
information with all your pharmacy staff.
The aim of the campaign is to make people more aware of how to get the right treatment for common
illnesses such as colds and coughs without encouraging antibiotic resistance and to use antibiotics
properly.
Materials
Poster and leaflets are available electronically at the following link:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/ARC/Pages/eaad-toolkits.aspx
Posters should be prominently displayed in all pharmacies and the patient information leaflets are
provided to support your health promotional message.
Background
Key Messages – general
• Antibiotics are essential medicines for treating bacterial infections in both humans and animals.
• Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at an increasing rate.
• Bacteria can adapt and find ways to survive the effects of an antibiotic. They become ‘antibiotic resistant’, so that
the antibiotic no longer works. The more you use an antibiotic, the more bacteria become resistant to it.
• It is important we use antibiotics in the right way, the right drug, at the right dose, at the right time, and for the right
duration to slow down the development of antibiotic resistance.
• There are very few new antibiotics in the development pipeline, which is why it is important we use our existing
antibiotics wisely and make sure these life-saving medicines continue to stay effective for ourselves and future
generations.
• Many antibiotics are prescribed and used for mild infections when they don’t need to be. All colds and most
coughs, sinusitis, otitis media (earache) and sore throats often get better without antibiotics.
Monitoring and outcomes
It is important that you complete and return your data collection forms with the number of interventions
provided to the public. Completed forms for each of the campaigns for 2014-15 should be retained at the
pharmacy and a copy of all the completed sheets should be sent to NHS England Hertfordshire &
South Midlands Area Team following completion of all the 2014-15 year’s campaigns.
Forms should be submitted together to england.pharmacy-athsm@nhs.net by the end of March 2015.
Without submission of the form there is no confirmation that a pharmacy has participated in the public
health campaigns which forms part of the essential services. Furthermore, the information you provide
enables us to evaluate the success of the campaigns we run. Pharmacies are advised to also retain their
own copies as evidence for contractual monitoring.
Please do not hesitate to contact one of the Herts & South Midlands Area Team using the email above if
you have any further questions relating to this campaign.
Thank you for your support and full and enthusiastic participation in this important and mandatory
element of the pharmacy contract.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Pauline Walton
Lead Pharmacist
cc
Mrs Jacki Collett
Assistant Contract Manager
Helen Musson
Gerald Zeidman
Carolynne Freeman
Richard Jones
Andy Cooke
Sue Russell
Paul Larkin
Sue Smith
Janet Corbett
Jim McManus
Dr Muriel Scott
Executive Officer, Hertfordshire LPC
Chief Officer
Beds LPC
Vice Chair, Northants & MK LPC
Head of Prescribing & Meds Management (Luton CCG)
Head of Prescribing & Meds Management (Bedfordshire CCG)
Lead Pharmacist (ENHerts CCG)
Lead Pharmacist (Herts Valleys CCG)
Head of Prescribing & Meds Management (Nene & Corby CCGs)
Associate Director Transformation & Delivery (Milton Keynes CCG)
Director of Public Health – Hertfordshire County Council
Director of Public Health – Central Bedfordshire Council & Bedford Borough Council
Gerry Taylor
Director of Public Health – Luton Borough Council