A campaign in B&NES to raise awareness of the importance of using antibiotics appropriately has won in the Community Engagement category of the national Antibiotic Guardian awards.
The campaign – led by B&NES Council and Bath and North East Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (BaNES CCG) with the support of Sirona Care and Health, local public health representatives and national and international science educators – saw Year 3 pupils design posters showing how to wash your hands, catch your sneezes and make sure you take antibiotics properly.
The posters were displayed in locations in and around B&NES including sports centres, libraries, pharmacies, GP’s surgeries and the Royal United Hospital, and members of the public who saw them were encouraged to upload photos to social media.
“We are thrilled that this local campaign has received national recognition for its whole-community approach. The artwork created by the children was informative and fun, and really showed that they understood the concepts they were taught about infection prevention,” said Elizabeth Beech who is a prescribing advisor at BaNES CCG, a National Project Lead at NHS Improvement and part of the project team.
“It was undoubtedly the children’s imaginative illustrations that led to such a successful social media campaign,” she added.
Councillor Vic Pritchard (Conservative, Chew Valley South), Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, said: “I was lucky enough to be one of the judges for this creative and highly effective campaign and was delighted with the poster designs we received.
“It was great to see that the children were so receptive to the message and used their creativity to help spread the message.
“Antibiotic resistance and how to avoid it, is such an important message to instil in everyone, so to have engaged with young people so effectively is very positive. Well done to all those involved.”
Sharon Badger, Deputy Headteacher of Weston All Saints Primary School in Bath said: “We were delighted that three of our pupils were winners in the poster competition.
The pupils really enjoyed being part of the competition and learned that washing their hands and catching sneezes is really important to prevent the spread of infection.
“They also learned that antibiotics won’t work for common viral infections.
“Our families really enjoyed seeking out the posters around Bath and North East Somerset and sharing the messages via social media.”
The awards were hosted in London by Antibiotic Guardian, a Public Health England campaign that was set up in 2014 to raise awareness among the general public of the very real threat posed by antimicrobial resistance – resistance to antibiotics.
In the year to November 2016, 26 per cent of 0-10 year-olds in B&NES were prescribed antibiotics by their GP at least once. Furthermore, over half of all prescriptions for antibiotics were for respiratory infections such as ear ache, sore throat and cough, which usually get better on their own.
Everyone can help protect antibiotics by becoming an Antibiotic Guardian. Visit www.antibioticguardian.com to make a pledge and discover ways you and your family can help stop the spread of infection and help protect antibiotics.