The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a new plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global issue that makes infections difficult or impossible to treat.
The second National Action Plan will commit the UK to reducing its use of antimicrobials – such as antibiotics, antifungals and antivirals – in humans and animals, strengthen surveillance of drug resistant infections before they emerge and incentivise industry to develop the next generation of treatments. This will support the government’s 20-year vision to contain and control AMR by 2040.
Measures in the Plan include reducing the incidence of infectious diseases, using infection control.
The UK will continue to innovate with expansion to a subscription-style model, piloted 2019, to more antimicrobials across the UK. Under the subscription scheme, companies pay a fixed annual fee for antimicrobials based primarily on their value to the NHS, as opposed to the volumes used.
There is more about AMR here: NHS England » Antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
