CVS has reported on programme developments in its 2024 sustainability report
CVS’ Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme To Focus On Three Areas
CVS Group’s antimicrobial stewardship programme is to concentrate on three focus areas to help reduce the development of drug-resistant pathogens.
The three areas were selected following survey of colleagues and a discussion day with a diverse group of colleagues to identify the highest impact areas.
The three areas of focus are:
- Collating the evidence and understanding to support responsible antibiotic prescribing and infection control processes – for example, CVS has introduced a number of improvement projects including with the University of Bristol to increase the responsible use of antimicrobials in three common conditions: otitis externa, acute (haemorrhagic) diarrhoea and cat bite abscesses.
- Cultivating a culture, where tidiness, cleanliness and hygiene was an important part of everyone’s role in infection control – for example, CVS’ Nursing Committee has reviewed its infection control guidelines - in relation to deep cleaning, swabbing and interpretation of lab results. A Glo Germ project helps colleagues to understand how comprehensive their cleaning is – by using a product that casts a revealing glow when exposed to ultraviolet light.
- Supporting client education and communication of AMS processes or practice policies – for example talking to clients about good stewardship - and the hazards of reusing prescribed antibiotics for a new or recurrent condition or unsafe disposal.
Angie Rayner, Quality Improvement Director, said:
“Antimicrobial stewardship is complicated, so we have taken our colleagues’ best ideas and simplified it down to three areas. We are also using data to support our decision making and we will continue to share this evidence to support best practice infection control.”
CVS antimicrobial stewardship programme is an important component of its ‘One Health’ workstream to balance the requirement of animal welfare with the environment and public health. Work on this and the other sustainability programmes is detailed in CVS’ 2024 sustainability report, please visit Results and Reports | CVS Group (cvsukltd.co.uk) .
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