Written question asked by Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 19 October 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 November 2004. It was answered by Melanie Johnson (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 November 2004 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms there are in NHS hospitals to (a) oversee and (b) regulate the use of antibiotics in order to limit the development of antimicrobial resistance. - Inc ref to "Winning Ways Working together to Reduce Healthcare Associated Infection in England".

Answer: Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms there are in NHS hospitals to (a) oversee and (b) regulate the use of antibiotics in order to limit the development of antimicrobial resistance. [193405] Miss Melanie Johnson: Each national health service trust should already have a nominated lead clinical pharmacist to ensure that appropriate antimicrobial prescribing policies are in place, monitored and updated as appropriate. Prudent prescribing is a key component of "Winning Ways Working together to Reduce Healthcare Associated Infection in England" and multi- disciplinary teams will be addressing this issue locally with the help of additional funding provided by the Department. NHS microbiology departments monitor antibiotic resistance patterns in clinical units and the data is used by medical microbiologists to advise on the treatment of individual patients and on the development of local policies for antibiotic use.

Secondary information