Summer 2023 Newsletter
Issue 21
Welcome to the latest issue of our newsletter
In this edition we want to know what you think about the proposed ‘Pharmacy First’ plans. The UK government has said it will invest an extra £645m in community pharmacy over the next two years, part of which will fund a ‘Pharmacy First’ service for England, allowing pharmacists to supply medicines for seven common health conditions, including earache, sore throat and urinary tract infections. Let us know what you think about these plans. You can get in touch on our social channels or email us here. You can see our response to the announcement here
Antibiotics and the sun – Did you know one of our most visited website pages currently is on the topic of whether some antibiotics can make people more sensitive to the sun? Find out more here
We hope you’ll enjoy reading about the progress we are making against antibiotic resistance, which is made possible thanks to the support of people like you. As always if you have anything you’d like to ask or share with us, please get in touch.
P.S. We’re also pleased to tell you our YouTube channel is now live @AntibioticResearchUK which can be found here.
Summer Newsletter highlights include:
Viki was referred to our Patient Support Service by Sepsis Trust UK. She was blue-lighted to hospital with severe sepsis caused by a UTI which had not been treated successfully with antibiotics at the onset. Read Viki’s story here.
Our Patient Support Officer Aileen Bryson spoke to Well Pharmacy Foundation Pharmacist trainees about the importance of good antibiotic stewardship in a pharmacy-based career, especially considering the PM’s ‘Pharmacy First’ announcement. You can read more here.
Public Engagement Fundraiser, Claire Nethersole recently gave a talk at the Pint of Science Festival on the pressing issue of antimicrobial resistance. She shared stories of people affected by resistant infections and underscored the need for urgent policy action. Find out more here.
Angela Mwape reached out to us for help finding experts in UTI diagnosis, treatment and management who are willing to be interviewed for her research. Her work will inform the development of an instrument which measures clinicians’ knowledge and attitudes in prescribing for UTIs. For further information or for Angela’s contact details, click here.
In our last newsletter we featured an update on Agata Soltysinska’s research. Since April, she has completed early tests of a combination of cefepime/sulbactam and found that most strains of the tested bacteria were susceptible to this combination – you can read an overview of her project here The next phase in her project is antibiotic susceptibility testing on a larger sample of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including Acinetobacter spp. and Enterobacterales spp.
Our York Volunteer Group got together for a fundraising event on the 15th of June 2023, which raised over £10,000! Many thanks to Lady Worsley for hosting the event and to McClarrons’ Fordy Marshall, Burgess Pet Care and of course the York Volunteer Group for their support! If you’re inspired to hold a fundraising event for us, just let us know.
Could your company partner with us?
Charity-corporate partnerships are becoming a crucial way for responsible companies to differentiate themselves and showcase values of sustainability and community. Find out more about how your company could partner with us to combat antibiotic resistance.
If you have personal experience of an antibiotic-resistant infection, whether as a patient, carer, family member or friend, and are interested in supporting the above plans, then please get in touch with me at: CEO@antibioticresearch.org.uk.
With very best wishes
Jonathan
Jonathan Pearce, CEO, Antibiotic Research UK
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