Developing the first national antimicrobial prescribing and stewardship competences

Antimicrobial resistance is a national and worldwide threat to the future of healthcare. Educating both healthcare staff and the public in the prudent use of antimicrobials is an essential part of antimicrobial stewardship programmes that aim to contain and control resistance and preserve the usefulness of currently available antibiotics. Using current available evidence, regulatory documents and national antimicrobial stewardship guidance for primary and secondary care, five dimensions for antimicrobial prescribing and stewardship competences have been developed in England, through an independent multiprofessional group led by the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) of the Department of Health (England). They are designed to complement the generic competency framework for all prescribers from the UK National Prescribing Centre (now part of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and are relevant to all independent prescribers, including doctors, dentists and non-medical practitioners. The antimicrobial prescribing and stewardship competences published jointly by ARHAI and PHE in 2013 are believed to be the first of their kind. Implementation of these competences will be an important contribution to the delivery of the UK government's 5 year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy.