Pharmacy Lecturer makes presentation to Council of Europe committee
Dr Antonella Tonna, Senior Lecturer from The School of Pharmacy, Applied Sciences and Public Health, has written a piece on her online presentation about antimicrobial resistance at the European Committee on Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Care.
As early as 1945, Sir Alexander Fleming raised the alarm regarding antibiotic overuse when he warned that the “public will demand [the drug and] … then will begin an era … of abuses.”
For all those who know me and are familiar with my teaching and research interests, it is not surprising that I was invited to deliver a presentation about all things antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). This was delivered on the 1st of October, at the 20th meeting of the European Committee on Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Care (CD-P-PH) which is one of the intergovernmental steering committees of the Council of Europe. The CD-P-PH consists of senior officials in ministries and medicines agencies responsible for health policies.
I was both thrilled and nervous about being provided with such a prestigious platform wanting to represent both RGU and myself in the best way possible while also delivering a meaningful presentation. The brief indicated that the presentation should last approximately 15-20 minutes and should explain what AMR is, highlight the impact of AMR on health systems as well as on patient outcomes, briefly explain the different measures developed at national and international level to fight AMR and touch upon their main outcomes, and describe the potential role of national and international regulators in supporting the fight against AMR. Including all this information within such a short space of time was a challenge in itself.
It was fortuitous that the very well-publicised UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance was also taking place at the end of September. Consequently, numerous organisations were invited to provide their preferred policy options to tackle AMR, including the World Bank and Medicines without Borders. This provided me with a great starting point for delivering my message. I also used the opportunity to highlight the importance of One Health defined by the WHO as “an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems” and linking the topic of AMR to the UN Sustainability Development Goals to emphasise its wider remit.
As a pharmacist by background and conscious that the focus of the committee is pharmaceutical care, I also included ways in which pharmacists may contribute towards fighting against AMR. Combining my pharmacy and academic background, I also touched upon the current national initiative to develop and implement a UK-wide AMS competency framework tailored for student pharmacists and driven by NAPEG (National Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacy Education Group) of which I am a founding member and current professional secretary. Feedback was very positive, and I am currently exploring ways of continued contribution and collaboration with this committee.
I am passionate about this topic since I feel that whether we are healthcare professionals or not, there is a role for each of us to contribute to slow resistance and cut inappropriate and unnecessary use of antibiotics. Having read this short review, you might be tempted to become an antibiotic guardian; further information is available at: https://antibioticguardian.com/
