For this special episode the Apothecaries are joined by Professor Phil Howard ,OBE, to discuss Antimicrobial Resistance and what we can all do to tackle it. Phil is well placed to discuss this with us as the Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead for the North-East & Yorkshire region of England and the former President of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (18-24th November) aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and to encourage best practices for using antimicrobials responsibly among the general public, health workers and policy makers, to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-antibiotic-awareness-day-resources-toolkit-for-healthcare-professionals-in-england/world-antimicrobial-awareness-week-waaw-and-european-antibiotic-awareness-day-eaad.

We explore why prescribers might feel compelled to prescribe antibiotics in spite of the risks and what can be done to support prudent prescribing. We hear examples of good practice and about the resources that are out there to help people. Don’t miss an exciting announcement about a future partnership between the Three Apothecaries and the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy! We discuss previous Health Secretary’s admission that she had shared unused antibiotics with friends and family…

As with all of our guests, Phil shares with us a Memorable Drug, a career anthem and book that has influenced his career. Expect an antimicrobial theme!

Our micro-discussion focuses on the role of community pharmacy in supplying antibiotics and in particular the sore throat test and treat service that is in operation in Wales. An improvement in care or a risk to resistance? We discuss the latest research and give our verdict (https://academic.oup.com/jac/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jac/dkac358/6770011).

The Royal Pharmaceutical Antibiotic Amnesty Toolkit can be found here; https://www.rpharms.com/resources/pharmacy-guides/antimicrobial-resistance-and-stewardship/antibiotic-amnesty.

The Antibiotic Freakonomics podcasts mentioned can be found at
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/cassandra-quave-thinks-the-way-antibiotics-are-developing-might-kill-us/
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/doctors-know-they-prescribe-too-many-antibiotics-why-dont-they-stop/

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at [email protected] . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary musical playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Phil can be found on Twitter at @AntibioticLeeds

Phil Howard Bio
Philip Howard is the Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead for the North-East & Yorkshire region of England. He was a Consultant Pharmacist in Antimicrobials at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust until September 2021 and Honorary Visiting Professor at Leeds University. He is the former President of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
He was a member of the Dept of Health ARHAI Antimicrobial Stewardship Group that produced the original Start Smart then Focus Antimicrobial Stewardship Guidelines, and the HPA Primary Care Unit which helped produce the RCGP TARGET guidance on Antimicrobial Stewardship in Primary Care.
He is a member of the UK Dept of Health advisory group on AMR & HCAI and the NICE common infections guidelines group, NICE living CoVID guideline group and the NICE new models of antimicrobial funding committee.

His research interests include Antimicrobial Stewardship and antibiotic shortages. He led the first global hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship survey. He has been involved in AMS education and training across the world. He’s a Fellow of Royal Pharmaceutical Society and has won the GHP/GSK/UKCPA Clinical Leadership Award, the UKCPA Lifetime Achievement Award and awarded the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) medal for his services to healthcare. He is a spokesman for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on Antimicrobials, and for the Antibiotic-Action and British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy charities.