Antibiotic Clampdown

10 million prescriptions for antibiotic per year were inappropriate, says NICE.

16:27 20 August 2015

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Prof Mark Baker said that 10 million prescriptions of antibiotic per year in England were inappropriate. He added that some people were “addicted” to the idea of getting antibiotics and that 97per cent of patients easily get access by simply getting a prescription from “soft-touch” doctors.

 

He now calls for disciplinary action against doctors who prescribe too many antibiotics. He said: We are proposing that evidence is collected so the finger can be pointed at people who are a soft touch."

 

The Royal College of GPs said that call as “counter-productive and unhelpful.”

 

Dr Tim Ballard, from the Royal College of GPs, said: "Any suggestion that hard-pressed GPs - who are already trying to do their jobs in increasingly difficult circumstances - will be reported to the regulator is counter-productive and unhelpful."

 

NICE is set to publish guidelines on the proper use of antibiotics for the general public next year. Among the recommendations is to delay issuing prescriptions unless the patient’s condition is getting worse and to use antibiotics only when really necessary.

 

Niall Dickson, the chief executive of the General Medical Council, said "doctors can, and do, face sanctions for mis-prescribing." But the message is "more about changing the norms of practice generally than pursuing individual doctors".