NHS Wales AMR and HCAI Improvement Goals
NHS Wales has reported good progress in reducing AMR and HCAI in 2018/19, but meeting the objectives of the new AMR Strategy will have ‘significant financial implications’.
Public Health Wales has committed £1.1m investment in order to fulfil the goals of the January 2019 5-year National Action Plan 2019-2024, supported by UK AMR Strategy 20-year vision, which aims to reduce anti-microbial resistance (AMR) and healthcare associated infections (HCAI).
The 20-year vision seeks to:
- Integrate “whole system approach” to AMR and HCAI.
- Improve antimicrobial stewardship
- Improve prevention, control and management of infections to deliver significant change in key infections
NHS Wales has reported good progress with regards to reducing AMR and HCAI. In 2018-19 it reported:
- 27% fewer cases of C. difficile were recorded across Wales
- 5% fewer cases of Escherichia coli (E.coli) blood stream infections (BSI)
- 24% fewer cases of meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
- Continued reduction in primary care prescribing of anti-microbials
- 2 Health Boards are on target to meet the 55% goal for access category antimicrobials
Public Health Wales is allocating funds from its £1.1m revenue investment in order to continue this progress and meet these goals.
However, it is estimated that salary costs for the community resource will reach £1.65m from 2020 onwards. The NHS Chief Executive is expected to deliver a paper outlining funding expectations in summer 2019.
Find out more from the NHS Wales report here.
