Accreditation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes: addressing a global need to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

Accreditation of healthcare services provides quality assurance of hospital practice to support safe and effective care for patients. Accreditation programmes focused on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) have been developed in high-income countries (HIC) and recently the WHO has developed a toolkit to support AMS practice in low and middle-income (LMIC) countries. BSAC has developed their Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme (GAMSAS) for hospitals based on globally applicable standards. GAMSAS aims to support healthcare organizations to build measurable AMS programmes and to support spread of best practice. GAMSAS involves a desktop assessment by BSAC experts followed by a hospital visit to gather further insight into how a hospital's AMS programme operates. A final report of compliance with the GAMSAS standards and a recommendation about accreditation at one of three levels is formally approved at a GAMSAS panel meeting involving well-established global experts in AMS. The BSAC GAMSAS team reflect on progress during the first year and ambitions for future spread.

Introducing the global antimicrobial stewardship partnership hub (GASPH): creating conditions for successful global partnership collaboration.

In 2015, 196 countries formally committed to a Global Action Plan to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, translating policy into practice is not happening at pace and the recent Global Research on AntiMicrobial resistance (GRAM) Project report confirms the burden of AMR is increasing. Despite progress in establishing surveillance data and investment in new antimicrobials, education and training including use of behavioural science approaches to change practice is lagging. To contribute to addressing this, we have invited organizations to join us as founding members of the Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Partnership Hub (GASPH) (https://global-asp-hub.com/). We will work together to share education resources and foster collaboration to meet the needs of learners and of partner organizations working on tackling AMR. Membership is open to all-professional societies, academic institutes, nongovernmental organizations/civil society, philanthropists and commercial partners interested in supporting a multi-stakeholder global antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) education platform and network.

Tackling antimicrobial resistance in practice: dental students' evaluation of university teaching supplemented by an online course.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a global threat to public health. Engaging all healthcare professionals including undergraduates in efforts to tackle AMR is vital. Sharing and spreading good practice in teaching on AMR and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is a key ambition in Scotland. In 2020, the University of Glasgow Dental School supplemented teaching with mandatory completion by final year undergraduates of an online education programme on the essential role of dental teams in reducing AMR. Objectives: To evaluate final year dental students' knowledge and experience of utilizing an online international educational, interactive resource to supplement university teaching: Tackling Antibiotic Resistance: What Should Dental Teams Do? Methods: Cross-sectional qualitative evaluation using a self-administered questionnaire with open questions about course content, learning and personal action planning. Data were thematically analysed using NVivo12 Pro software. Results: A total of 88 students completed a questionnaire, which indicated online training had increased their understanding of AMR and AMS from a global perspective and confirmed these topics were an integral part of their undergraduate education programme. Their action plans demonstrated enthusiasm for creating an AMS culture in clinical practice and an understanding of the need for ongoing education of themselves, their colleagues and patients. Conclusions: Education delivery using a variety of media to support teaching and learning in Glasgow Dental School was effective in ensuring that students understand their role in tackling AMR. Students were positive about the addition of an online education programme to supplement university teaching. This approach may be beneficial for other undergraduate dentistry programmes.

A survey of practice and opinions on the use of topical antibiotics to prevent surgical site infection: more confusion than consensus.

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common causes of healthcare-associated infection. Although the use of topical antibiotics to prevent SSI is not recommended by current guidelines, published studies document conflicting results and conclusions. Objectives: The objectives of this survey were to: (i) determine the extent of the use of topical antibiotics to prevent SSI in clinical practice; and (ii) gather the opinions of healthcare professionals most likely to be involved in their use. Methods: A questionnaire was circulated to members of BSAC and the European Wound Management Association (EWMA). Results: The questionnaire received 160 responses from a variety of healthcare professionals around the world. Most respondents (70%) did not have guidelines for the use of topical antibiotics for the prevention of SSI in their institution; if present, local guidance was based on national guidelines (20/31, 65%). Most respondents did not use or recommend topical antibiotics to prevent SSI; of those that did, gentamicin collagen sponges were most commonly used (24/96 responses, 25%). Over half of the surgeons (18/33, 55%) who responded to the survey did not use topical antibiotics for the prevention of SSI but, when used, contaminated surgery (8/33, 24%) was the most commonly stated indication. Conclusions: There are diverse opinions and practices among healthcare professionals about the use of topical antibiotics for the prevention of SSI. This considerable, and possibly inappropriate, variation in clinical practice needs to be addressed as part of antibiotic stewardship.

Behind the scenes of JAC: the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

This brief article describes the relationship between the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) and JAC, and how JAC has directly and indirectly facilitated delivery of the BSAC's charitable objectives over the past 40 years.