RCGP responds to UKHSA report on rise in antibiotic-resistant infections

Responding to a UKHSA report of nearly 400 newly reported antibiotic-resistant infections every week in 2024, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:

“This news from UKHSA is concerning. Antibiotic resistance remains one of the most serious global health threats we face, and GPs understand the dangers of infections becoming resistant to treatment.

“Over recent years, GPs have taken significant steps to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing, ensuring that these medicines are used only when they are clinically appropriate. GPs are highly trained to prescribe in line with clinical guidance, whilst taking the individual circumstances of the patient into consideration.

“But curbing antibiotic resistance is a shared responsibility - and it’s important that all prescribing clinicians working within the NHS and outside of it, as well as patients, play their role. Anti-biotics can be highly effective drugs against bacterial infections, but they will not work against viruses, and that’s a really key message to get across. If these life-saving drugs stop working, that’s of benefit to no one. 

“As a College, we have worked closely with partners including the UK Health Security Agency to develop the TARGET antibiotics toolkit, which supports responsible prescribing and helps improve patient understanding that antibiotics are not suitable for every infection.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.