Improving feedback of surveillance data on antimicrobial consumption, resistance and stewardship in England: putting the data at your Fingertips.

The provision of better access to and use of surveillance data is a key component of the UK 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy. Since April 2016, PHE has made data on practice (infection prevention and control; antimicrobial stewardship) and outcome (prevalence of AMR, antibiotic use and healthcare-associated infections) available through Fingertips, a publicly accessible web tool (https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/amr-local-indicators). Fingertips provides access to a wide range of public health data presented as thematic profiles, with the above data being available through the 'AMR local indicators' profile. Local data on a range of indicators can be viewed at the level of National Health Service acute trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups or general practitioner practices, all of which can be compared with the corresponding aggregate values for England to allow benchmarking. The data can be viewed in a range of formats including an overview showing counts and rates, interactive maps, spine charts and graphs that show temporal trends over a range of time scales or allow correlations between pairs of indicators. The aim of the AMR local indicators profile on Fingertips is to support the development of local action plans to optimize antibiotic prescribing and reduce AMR and healthcare-associated infections. Provision of access to relevant information in an easy to use format will help local stakeholders, including healthcare staff, commissioners, Directors of Public Health, academics and the public, to benchmark relevant local AMR data and to monitor the impact of local initiatives to tackle AMR over time.

Influenza vaccine uptake in adults aged 50-64 years: policy and practice in England 2003/2004.

A small national study was carried out in England in 2003/2004 to ascertain the views of primary care trusts (PCTs) and general practitioners (GPs) on whether influenza immunisation should be extended to all people aged 50-64 years from the current recommendation of 65 years or more. Results showed that as many primary care trusts would be in favour, as would not be in favour. A similarly divided view was expressed by general practitioners. Vaccine uptake rates for high-risk (HR) and low-risk (LR) adults aged 50-64 years in the study population were higher in those practices where the GP was in favour of a more inclusive policy of offering flu vaccine to all persons aged 50 years or more, compared with those that did not favour this policy (60% versus 54% HR (p=0.02) and 16% versus 11% LR (p=0.02)). Higher rates of vaccine uptake for low-risk patients aged 50-64 years were also reported from practices where GPs perceived a greater health benefit of immunisation for this age group. Although policy for recommending vaccine to all patients aged 50 years or more is established elsewhere, opinion on whether such a policy should be adopted in England is currently divided amongst those providing local health services.