Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

(asked on 31st October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the use of pilot programmes to demonstrate the value of rapid diagnostics in tackling antimicrobial resistance.


Answered by
Steve Brine Portrait
Steve Brine
This question was answered on 9th November 2018

The Government is committed to improving the use of diagnostic tools and tests in support of our ambitions on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). NHS England leads a programme of work focused on diagnostics and AMR. As part of this programme, it established the United Kingdom AMR Diagnostic Collaborative (UK ADC).

The UK ADC is working with system partners to support clinical decision making and appropriate prescribing of antibiotics. This work includes clarity about which tests should be undertaken along with system alignment around available quality standards.

Whilst we recognise the challenges presented by the lack of clinical trial data for rapid diagnostic testing, the United Kingdom’s upcoming five-year national action plan on AMR will include actions to address these challenges and support the uptake of rapid diagnostics.

The UK ADC is also undertaking a focussed piece of work with key partners to gain a system wide understanding of current practice relating to the blood culture pathway which will enable the UK ADC and key partners to develop mechanisms to improve services.

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