18 - 24 November is World AMR Awareness Week resources to support you in your practice

As we enter World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, CPPE has resources to support you. These include the latest episodes of the CPPE podcasts, meeting the threat of antimicrobial resistance. This gives a big picture approach. In this episode of CPPE Pharmacy Conversations, hosts Jo Lane and Rina Babla are joined by two distinguished guests, Fran Garraghan, a consultant pharmacist specialising in antimicrobial stewardship, and Dr Kieran Hand, national pharmacy and prescribing clinical lead for NHS England’s antimicrobial resistance (AMR) program. It's great for learning on the go, whilst walking the dog or going for a run - grab your trainers (and maybe an extra thermal layer, if like me you have snow today) and get listening... I should add that going outside to listen isn't compulsory, it also works well curling up with a hot drink.

If you are in community pharmacy, like me, you might get lots of unindicated requests for antibiotics. One of the tips in the podcast was to give people an idea of the duration of illnesses, this can be helpful to avoid multiple visits and give people the confidence to manage their symptoms without antibiotics.

The Target website tells us that:

Earache - Most get better by 7 to 8 days

Sore throat Most get better by 7 to 8 days

Cough Most get better by 3 to 4 weeks

Perhaps the idea of suggesting that someone who is feeling rubbish that antibiotics are not a good solution, is daunting. If that the case the NHS Pharmacy First - Delivering a quality service : CPPE has idea, models and tools to support you. This programme was developed with jobbing community pharmacy professionals delivering this service, and Dr Phil Xiu a GP, who encounters many of these consultations in his practice too. We look at RCGP Target resources, and draw on practice experience to help you to unpack ways to manage expectations in those consultations.

James Williams Elaine Hand-Griffiths Ashley Cohen Amy Greenhalgh Jenny Graham Mike Jones Priya Littler Berina Stitkovac Hayley Berry Joanne Lane CPPE Kieran Hand Caroline Barraclough Meera Joshi Penny Mosley Sue Smith