A team of officials from the Pan American Health Organization has recently wrapped up an Anti-microbial stewardship training programme at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, with a view to improving patient care and reducing the amount of money spent on antibiotics.

Infection Control Specialist at the (QEH), Dr. Corey Forde, said the aim of the Programme is not only to improve patient care by “impacting mortality and morbidity rates, but impacting hospital costs by encouraging more judicious antibiotics use across the hospital“.

Dr. Forde explained that the PAHO team, on a two-day visit to the hospital during the week of August 11, facilitated training for 57 hospital workers from the QE H and the Geriatric Hospital. The group comprised nurses, physicians, pharmacy and microbiology. The Infection Control Specialist said each of them had their individual roles to play in the hospitals’ quest to reduce the money spent on antibiotics.

Dr. Forde said from the training, an Anti-biogram (a diagram that lists all the organisms in the hospital and the antibiotics that they are sensitive to) will and be developed. He said medical personnel would be in a better position to prescribe drugs for treatment based on information contained in the Anti-biogram.

Dr Forde said the training went well and the Surgical Intensive Care Unit has been chosen as the pilot for the programme which is currently on going.

He said: “From PAHO’s point of view of which I fully support, the [Anti-microbial Training Programme] will improve overall antibiotic use [by] looking at better antibiotics use which will ultimately cut costs, reduce the length of stay in the hospital and will also help to improve the flow of information between the prescriber, pharmacy and microbiology.”

As part of this programme, Dr. Jorge Mattias, is currently on attachment in the QEH’s Microbiology Lab and his expertise is expected to enrich the current Anti-microbial Training Programme and guide future training sessions.

Dr. Forde said the PAHO team of experts was generally satisfied that the QEH had the requirements to start the programme.