WAAW is celebrated from 18-24 November every year.
The theme for WAAW 2023 will remain “Preventing antimicrobial resistance together”, as in 2022.
Antimicrobial Resistance is a threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment. It affects us all.
This year, we are focusing on one simple message to encourage everyone to contribute to the preservation of our finite antibiotic resource.
As you know, antibiotics are life-saving medicines and a vital tool in modern medicine.
It is critical that action is taken to maintain their effectiveness in treating infections for both current and future patients.
Antibiotic resistance is increasing with 53,985 severe antibiotic resistant infections in England during 2021, an increase of 2.2% from 2020.
As antibiotic resistance increases, we see some infections becoming harder to treat. It is recognised that inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics are some of the main drivers of resistance.
* Your clinician will prescribe antibiotics when necessary, for the appropriate duration of time, following NICE Guidelines.
* During November, patients are being encouraged to safely dispose of any unused, leftover antibiotics by taking them to their local pharmacy for safe disposal.
Thank you for your support with this very important initiative.
