Local NHS Trust Holds Antibiotic Amnesty

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Asking public to hand in unused or out of date drugs to hospital

If you have unused or out of date antibiotics, is asking you to hand them in to either Charing Cross, Hammersmith or St Mary's Hospital by Friday December 4.

The antibiotic amnesty is being run as part of World Antibiotic Awareness Week which encourages medics and the general public to think about their use of antibiotics to help prevent resistance.

The trust says antibiotics are important medicines for treating bacterial infections but the more they are used, the more bacteria are able to adapt and find new ways to survive the effects of the medication.

This leads to a build-up in resistance and means antibiotics can no longer be used to treat infections.

Mark Gilchrist, Consultant Pharmacist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust says: " Antibiotics are a precious resource, the effectiveness of which are at risk from increasing resistance by bacteria, creating one of the most significant threats to patient safety in Europe.

" We can all help to reduce antibiotic resistance by only taking antibiotics when they are prescribed. Antibiotics should never be saved for later or shared with others and it’s important to remember that they cannot treat common illnesses such as colds or sore throats.

" By handing in unused or out of date antibiotics we can help stop their inappropriate use and slow down the development of antibiotic resistance."

People can hand in their unused or out of date antibiotics at any of the Trust's Lloyds outpatient pharmacies based within the three hospitals.

The amnesty is being run in conjunction with The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance at Imperial College London.

November 23, 2015