TARGET

Treat Antibiotics Responsibly: Guidance, Education and Tools

Welcome!

Resource Development

UTI Diagnostic Guidance

Do you have an interest in how Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are diagnosed in primary care settings? The new 5-year UK National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance outlines the need to support clinicians when deciding about the need to prescribe an antimicrobial.

To contribute to this, UKHSA has worked with key agencies like NHS England to update the UTI diagnostic tools for primary care and is looking for feedback on the updated resources from stakeholders across the care pathway.

The consultation will run from 8th May – 2nd June 2024. Please see the consultation landing pages to access the resources and the feedback form.

Please email the TARGET antibiotics toolkit team at targetantibiotics@ukhsa.gov.uk if you have any questions or issues accessing the form.

Resource Updates

COPD how to...worked examples

Translated leaflet update

The TARGET patient information leaflets have been translated into Pashto and Slovak, which means they are now available in 31 different languages!

Updated clinical scenarios

The following TARGET training resources have been updated based on surveillance and survey data from 2023:

Acute cough Date updated: October 2023

Otitis media Date updated: November 2023

Core workshop Date updated: February 2024

Urinary tract infection Date updated: March 2024

Antibiotic Summary Guidance

Events

TARGET webinars

TARGET and the RCGP hosted 3 new webinars which provide up to date information and an evidence base to support optimal antibiotic prescribing according to national guidelines.

These were recorded and are available to watch on the toolkit webpage:

• Applying diagnostic and prescribing guidance of urinary tract infections in practice (March 2024)

• Improving antibiotic management of respiratory tract infections (January 2024)

• Acne and COPD exacerbation - patients on long term/repeated antibiotics (November 2024)

TARGET Collaborations

AMS monthly research round-up

The AMS Monthly Research Round-Up is published on the Future NHS platform by NHS England in collaboration with colleagues from NICE and UKHSA.  Each bulletin aims to help those with an interest in antimicrobial stewardship to keep up-to-date with some of the key evidence that may influence clinical practice, support guidelines, and help inform policy.  You can use this link to access the research round-up published in Sway, but if you need in another format, please email: england.amrprescribingworkstream@nhs.net.

UTI campaign resources

NHSE and UKHSA ran a joint campaign from 12-19 October 2023 to raise awareness of UTI prevention, symptom recognition and treatment including advice on how and when to seek help.

A series of resources are hosted within the TARGET toolkit, which can be used to share key messages around preventing urinary tract infections in older adult groups

New Publications Relevant to TARGET

Evaluating the role of primary care pharmacy technicians in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and acne management using TARGET resources (https://doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlae011)

Perceived current and future roles of UK-based community pharmacy professionals in the long-term management of acne (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100310)

Management of urinary tract infections in the community: a clinical audit and patient survey (https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2022.0191)

The TARGET Team

Dr Donna Lecky, Head of the Primary Care and Interventions Unit

Donna has a background in microbiology research, programme management and resources development.

Emily Cooper, TARGET Programme Manager

Emily has a background in public health and nursing. She supports the management of the TARGET programme as well as national guidance and research around urinary tract infections.

Cath Hayes, TARGET Project Manager

Cath has a Master's in Public Health and is currently completing a PhD part-time focusing on antimicrobial stewardship for ear infections in primary care alongside her role as a Project Manager for the TARGET Antibiotics Toolkit.

Liam Clayton, TARGET Project Support Officer

Liam has a Master's degree in Sport and Exercise Science and is supporting with the development and update of TARGET resources and with research on urinary tract infections.

Ming Lee, TARGET Project Support Officer

Ming has a background in psychology and the development of interventions. She is supporting projects in community pharmacy and the roll out of TARGET training.

Emily Whitehorne, TARGET Research Assistant

Emily has a background in psychology and is currently studying for a Master’s in Public Health. She assists with the TARGET website and analytics, as well as supporting research projects.

Jade Meadows, Research Programme Manager

Jade has a background in clinical trials and research management and is supporting the TARGET training roll-out and evaluation.

Lizzie Richmond, RCGP Project Manager

Lizzie manages the RCGP's portfolio of quality improvement projects, which includes TARGET, Gambling Harms, and Deafness and Hearing loss.