FGDP cautions against involving regulator in antibiotic prescribing
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- Published: Monday, 24 August 2015 07:15
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The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has called on healthcare professionals to help curb the inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics. The Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) endorses the responsible use of antibiotics, and the ‘right dose at the right time’ approach advocated by the NICE guidelines, but would express caution about any plans to involve the regulator as a method to manage the over-prescribing of antibiotics.
The NICE guideline recommends that GPs, nurses, pharmacists and dentists promote and monitor the sensible use of antimicrobials including antibiotics. If successfully implemented, NICE's guidance could help to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by 25 per cent - accounting for 10 million prescriptions.
The guideline recommends setting up multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship teams working across all care settings. These teams should be able to review prescribing and resistance data frequently and feed this information back to prescribers. They should also be able to work with prescribers to understand the reasons for very high, increasing or very low volumes of antimicrobial prescribing as well as provide feedback and assistance to those who prescribe antimicrobials outside of local guidelines where this is not justified.
Professor Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said millions of ‘frequent flyer’ patients were becoming addicted to the idea of antibiotics, often touring surgeries and A&E wards until they received a prescription. He added that those (GPs) who fail to adhere to the guidance should be brought before the General Medical Council. While disciplinary action would most likely lead to retraining, doctors who continued to willfully misprescribe antibiotics could face being struck off the medical register. Prof Baker said prescriptions should start carrying diagnoses so that pharmacists could challenge doctors’ instructions and so needless prescribing could be monitored.
Dr Mick Horton, Dean of the FGDP(UK) has said, “The Faculty has always encouraged evidence-based practice and I believe that our standards guidelines can provide a helpful and easily-accessible resource for all dental practitioners and dental care professionals. It is vital that all members of the healthcare profession take the threat of antibiotic resistance seriously and demonstrate a commitment to addressing this issue through their own good practice, and I believe that dentistry should aim to set a positive example to the NHS and patients.”
Dr Graham Stokes, Chair of the BDA Health and Science Committee said: “Antibiotics won’t cure an abscess, so patients shouldn’t be surprised when their dentist suggests treatment other than a prescription. Dentists are already subject to regulation to ensure prescriptions can be justified. What we don’t have is a contract that provides adequate time for dentists to treat emergency cases. So we call on the government to recognise the real threat of AMR and factor this into any reformed package.This danger presented by antibiotic resistance requires a change in gear from practitioners, patients and policymakers. The simple message is we can’t go on as we are, and the dental profession is stepping up and taking a lead.”
Data published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows that antibiotic prescribing by dentists is falling year on year.
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