17 Apr 2019
Ambitious initiative aimed at reducing antibiotic use has been rolled out to more than 450 Vets4Pets and Companion Care practices.
Holly Kernot
Job Title
One of the UK’s biggest vet groups has launched an initiative aimed at reducing the use of antibiotics in its small animal practices.
New STAR (Stop and Think, are Antibiotics Required?) toolkits have been distributed to Vets4Pets and Companion Care surgeries across the UK in a bid to challenge established prescribing behaviours and promote best practice for antibiotic use.
Developed by Vets4Pets’ clinical services team, in conjunction with its clinical advisory board of practicing vets and nurses, the initiative incorporates new approaches and draws on ideas from organisations such as the World Health Organization, the BVA, the BMA, the BSAVA, NOAH, the VMD and The Bella Moss Foundation.
The toolkit, which is being supported by Bayer, looks at four key areas of support – antibiotics husbandry, antibiotics reporting and benchmarking, hand hygiene and client education.
It follows the lead of livestock vets and the NHS in promoting responsible antibiotic use, and effective hygiene and disinfection measures.
Huw Stacey, director of clinical services at Vets4Pets, said: “It’s taken nine months of development and refinement to finalise the STAR initiative, but now it’s being rolled out to more than 450 practices.
“Antibiotic resistance is a recognised problem in human health care, with bacteria such as MRSA.
“While multiple antibiotic resistance is rare in veterinary care, we still need to act responsibly to reduce the risk of its development.
“Livestock vets have recorded a 30% reduction in antibiotic use with initiatives in their sectors, and we’ll be monitoring and reporting on antibiotic prescribing levels within our practices going forwards.”
