Devon antibiotics campaign shortlisted for national award
A DEVON public health campaign that helps parents care for their children when they have minor illnesses like common coughs and colds, without the unnecessary use of antibiotics, has been shortlisted for a national award.
The Listen To Your Gut campaign, led by Devon County Council (DCC), the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT) and the Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), is a finalist in the inaugural Antibiotic Guardian Awards.
The awards celebrate those who have done the most to tackle the growing issue of antibiotic resistance at a local, regional or national level.
Listen To Your Gut has a two-pronged approach to assisting parents of young children – by offering support and guidance on social media and by distributing self-help treatment guides via pharmacies and GP practices.
The social media campaign includes an animation of ‘talking tums’, which represent parents in a playground sharing tips on treating minor ailments, looking after healthy gut bacteria and avoiding the side-effects of antibiotics.
The campaign followed a successful pilot involving parents at children’s centres in Braunton and Ilfracombe, led by DCC, NDHT, the CCG, the Public Health England (PHE) primary research team and the Devon local pharmaceutical committee (LPC).
The self-help guides, called Treating Your Infection, are available at pharmacies and GP practices and used during consultations.
DCC, NDHT and the CCG won an award for their Listen To Your Gut poster presentation at the South West Public Health Scientific Conference in Bristol in March.
In the Antibiotic Guardian Awards they have been shortlisted jointly in the community category, alongside fellow finalists Churchfields Medical Practice in Nottingham and NHS North Kirklees CCG in West Yorkshire.
The awards ceremony will take place at Birmingham Town Hall on Thursday 12 May.
Cllr Andrea Davis, DCC’s lead member for health and wellbeing, said: “To be shortlisted for these awards is great news and well-deserved recognition for everyone involved.
“We launched the Listen To Your Gut campaign in November to raise awareness of what antibiotics do and their side-effects and highlight that length of illness does not necessarily indicate the need for a prescription, thus reducing the demand for antibiotics.
“The campaign has had a really positive impact in increasing knowledge and confidence among parents to deal with minor ailments, while we have seen a significant reduction in the prescribing of certain medications thanks to the self-care guides and the support of pharmacists and GPs.”
Tom Lewis, consultant microbiologist for NDHT, said: “Our gut is home to trillions of naturally-occurring bacteria and our bodies live in partnership with them.
“These bacteria produce essential vitamins such as Vitamin K and can help us develop healthy immune systems, which might be disrupted by the use of antibiotics.
“There is also increasing evidence that healthy bugs are important in helping our bodies process the sugar in our diets.
“Taking antibiotics may kill these healthy bugs, making us more likely to develop diabetes and put on weight.”
Dr Tim Burke, a GP from North Devon and chairman of the CCG, said: “We know that most people will get better from most coughs and colds without antibiotics.
“People often just need to take care, not antibiotics.
“If we do need antibiotics, however, we can all play our part in helping to ensure we don’t have more and more bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, by always completing the course as instructed and never skipping doses or saving them for later.”
DCC, NDHT and the CCG continue to encourage people to make an online pledge to become an Antibiotic Guardian and reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics.
People can make a simple pledge at www.antibioticguardian.com and are asked to share their commitment on Facebook and Twitter to help raise awareness.
For more information about the Listen To Your Gut campaign, visit www.listentoyourgut.org.uk
