Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global problem that impacts all countries and all people. The Department of Health and Social Care sets out a 5-year national action plan and a 20-year vision to tackle AMR. The UK 5-year action plan: Tackling antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024, focuses on 3 ways to tackle AMR:
- reducing need for, and unintentional exposure to, antimicrobials
- optimising use of antimicrobials
- investing in innovation, supply and access
In the 2019/2020 financial year, around 30 million antibiotic prescription items were dispensed. Children aged 0 to14 years accounted for 3.6 million (12%) of these items, of which 48% was prescribed to children aged 0 to 4 years. Amoxicillin is the most prescribed antibiotic to children and accounts for 53% of all antibiotic use in children aged 0 to 4 years old.
The purpose of the ‘Antimicrobial Stewardship dashboard – Children’ is to allow NHS organisations to:
- see the variation in antibiotic prescribing for children aged 0 to 14 years
- compare antibiotic prescribing rates over time and between organisations
- understand how many children are prescribed one or more antibiotics
- identify and prioritise opportunities for antimicrobial stewardship improvement
- monitor and report antimicrobial stewardship improvement
The comparators for the dashboard are:
- ASC01 – Prescribing of antibacterial items per 1,000 children
- ASC02 – Number of children prescribed antibiotics per 1,000 children
- ASC03 – Number of children prescribed multiple antibiotics
- ASC04 – Prescribing of specific antibiotics per 1,000 children
- ASC05 – Prescribing of UTI related antibiotic items per 1,000 children
Antimicrobial Stewardship dashboard - Children Specification (Word: 281KB)
If you’re registered, you can access the Antimicrobial Stewardship dashboard – Children on ePACT2.