NHS trust first in UK to achieve antimicrobial stewardship accreditation

PIF member Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is the first UK healthcare organisation accredited in a global scheme tackling infection and antimicrobial resistance.

The Trust was accredited by the Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme for its commitment to using antibiotics wisely. 

The accreditation scheme is run by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC).

Only two other organisations have been accredited – one in the United States and one in the United Arab Emirates.

Centre of Excellence

BSAC has also designated Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust as a Centre of Excellence.

This means it will be supporting antimicrobial stewardship networks under a BASC quality standards scheme.

The standards outline activities that support safe and effective use of antibiotics. These include:

• Developing and using guidelines for antimicrobial prescribing
• Educating healthcare professionals, patients and the public about antimicrobial resistance
• Monitoring antimicrobial use and resistance
• Doing related research.

Find out more via the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust website here.