Introduction

Foreword from Scottish Government

"Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is one of the most serious and urgent healthcare concerns facing our society both nationally and globally.
The Scottish Government recognises that AMR is everyone’s business, and it is essential that Scotland’s health and social care workforce is familiar with the underlying principles to enable health and social care professionals to play their part in confronting this threat. Supporting this aim, the Scottish Government commissioned NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to develop this framework.
Working in close collaboration with the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG), Glasgow Caledonian University and other stakeholders, NES has produced a comprehensive resource to outline the knowledge and skills the health and social care workforce need to contain and control AMR within their roles and play an active part in safeguarding antimicrobials for the future. This resource will support professional development and capacity in the prevention of infection and antimicrobial stewardship, further ensuring a skilled workforce who will significantly strengthen our response to AMR.
The safety and wellbeing of everyone receiving care is at the heart of this framework. It recognises the fundamental importance of appropriate use and disposal of antimicrobials as the bedrock of a sound and sustainable defence against AMR while also setting out the key roles of preventing and controlling infection, clinical decision-making, diagnostic stewardship and infection treatment and management.
We recognise the importance of this framework and the linked educational resources in reducing the risk of drug-resistant infections. We recommend that it is widely implemented and used locally, regionally and nationally to raise awareness of AMR and support health and social care professionals and students in their development. This framework forms a key element of the delivery of the UK AMR National Action Plan and our shared vision of a world in which AMR is effectively contained, controlled and mitigated by 2040."

Signed by;

Tom Ferris, Chief Dental Officer (CDO)
Anne Aitken, Deputy Director Environmental Quality & Resilience Division
Carolyn McDonald, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAHPO)
Justine Craig, Chief Midwifery Officer
Alison Strath, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO)
Gregor Fisher, Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
Anne Armstrong, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO)
Angie Wood, Director, Social Care and National Care Service Development Directorate

Statements of support

Statements of support from the following networks and groups are included in the appendices:

• Scottish Antimicrobial Nurses Group
• Association of Scottish Antimicrobial Pharmacists
• Scottish Care
• Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland
• Scottish Microbiology and Virology Forum, Public Health Scotland
• The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Equality and health inequalities statement

We are firmly committed to improving population health, reducing health inequalities, and working nationally and locally with partners to make a positive and lasting impact to improving the wellbeing of the people of Scotland.

Promoting equality and addressing health inequalities are at the heart of delivering effective and high-quality care. Throughout the development of this framework, the three parts of the Public Sector Equality Duty have been considered:

1. eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010;
2. advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and
3. foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.