Europe’s Largest Infection Prevention and Control two-Day Conference took place this week in Birmingham, at the National Conference Centre. The conference and exhibition proved to be particularly well attended this year, as infection prevention and control professionals were eager to focus once again on core IP&C issues and gain an insight into the latest research and expert guidance on a wide range of infection challenges.
While COVID has shifted into the background, attention has returned once again to the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the topic was high on the agenda at this year's conference. The GRAM study (Lancet ID) estimated that 4.95 million deaths were associated with AMR in 2019, including 1.27 million deaths attributable to bacterial AMR. Professor Tony Avery OBE, National clinical director for prescribing, highlighted the need to tackle the over-prescribing of antibiotics, to improve prescribing processes, promote better training, as well as increase the use of digital prescribing technologies and point of care diagnostic tests to improve antibiotic stewardship.
Dr. Kieran Hand, the AMR National pharmacy and prescribing clinical lead, NHS England & NHS Improvement, continued the discussion with an overview of the NHS England AMR Programme policy incentives and support for optimising antimicrobial prescribing and stewardship.
The take home messages was that there has been solid progress on tackling AMR, but there is more work to be done to tackle the threat. The NHSE AMR Programme has appointed an Antimicrobial Prescribing & Medicines Optimisation (APMO) team and the strategic aims and key enablers have been identified. There is a programme of work now underway. However, a key message was that nurses will have an important contribution to make. Dr. Kieran Hand described nurses as "the unsung heroes of antimicrobial stewardship."
Esther Taborn, IP&C lead at NHS England, went on to further discuss the role of nursing in tackling AMR. She asserted that nurses of all grades and roles will have a part to play in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS); nursing leadership are in a unique position to place AMS at the centre of all work to improve health outcomes, prevent harm and protect patients.
She also pointed out that one-third of the population think antibiotics are effective for viruses (McNulty et al, 2009) and those with health inequalities associated with deprivation, or ethnic minorities, are much less likely to have had any advice regarding stewardship (McNulty et al, 2009).
There was standing room only in some of the sessions, as expert speakers provided an insight into a wide range of topics — from prevention of surgical site infections, preventing device-related infections, and managing C.difficle infections, to the transmission risk posed by hand dryers, and the latest research on hand sanitisation.
The Clinical Services Journal will be covering the conference programme in depth, within the next editions, highlighting some of the exciting innovations, insights and research presented at the event.
