£1.25m is to be invested in tackling the growing problems of antibiotic resistant hospital infections such as MRSA, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon announced today.
The funding, which will be invested in new testing equipment to monitor bugs’ resistance to antibiotics, was announced as part of the government’s action plan to tackle the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
Sturgeon said the investment in new equipment will place Scotland at the “forefront” of the UK in terms of surveillance.
She said: "Resistance to antibiotics is recognised internationally as a major threat to public health and patient safety and this growing problem is something the Scottish Government takes very seriously.
"It is vital that the information we have on antibiotic resistance is as robust as possible and that's why I'm delighted to announce today £1.25m for NHS boards to provide modern equipment to provide better monitoring.
“This will place us at the forefront within the UK and across much of Europe in terms of surveillance and I'm pleased to see evidence today of the positive impact this equipment is having.”
She also said it is important to “stamp out” unnecessary use of antibiotics, which can increase the spread of infections like MRSA.
"If you have a cold or a virus, in the vast majority of cases you don't need to take antibiotics,” she said. “In fact, doing so unnecessarily can increase the virulence and spread of infections like MRSA and C.diff, which we all know can have a devastating effect.”
Today’s funding announcement comes as the government publishes its action plan to tackle the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
Sturgeon said: "Last year I published the third HAI action plan, which comes into force in April this year. It saw record investment of £54m in tackling HAI, including plans to set up a pilot MRSA screening programme, more details of which I will announce soon.
"The plan I am publishing today is further evidence of how serious the Scottish Government is about tackling HAI and I am confident it will achieve real results in driving down rates of HAI in our hospitals."
In addition to the surveillance measures, a national group of HAI experts is to be established to take forward the report’s recommendations. The Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group will be made up of microbiologists, infection control professionals, pharmacists, prescribers and national expert bodies, and will be overseen by the Scottish Medicines Consortium.
The report is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/12153030
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