Staff and patients create music video to help combat antibiotic resistance | News

Staff and patients create music video to help combat antibiotic resistance

Staff and patients at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust have joined forces to create a music video to help spread the word and combat the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

The song titled the ‘48-Hour Review’ has been penned and performed by the band On the Raggedy Edge, made up of current and former medics from the Trust, to stress the importance of the regular checks after a global increase in the number of infections becoming resistant antibiotics.

Used to treat serious bacterial infections, experts at Birmingham Children’s and Birmingham Women’s Hospitals, which welcome more than 150,000 patients a year, check every 48 hours to see if antibiotics are working and, if not, whether they could be changed or stopped.

There’s been a rise in the number of infections that have become resistant to antibiotics, making treatment harder and, sadly, sometimes almost impossible. It’s estimated that as many as 5,000 deaths each year occur in England because antibiotics are no longer working to treat some infections.

A number of factors, alongside those that naturally occur, have contributed to the worldwide issue of resistance over the last few years, which include the misuse or inappropriate use of such drugs.

This World Antibiotic Awareness Week (13 – 19 November) the Trust is backing the national ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign aiming to combat the resistance issue, which experts predict without direct action could cause more deaths than cancer and diabetes combined in just 30 years’ time.

Joanna Correa West, Medicines Management Nurse at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“Raising awareness of the dangers of antibiotic resistance is a real priority for us as the prospect of a world where antibiotics are not effective would dramatically change how we treat the women and children we care for with infections and injuries, along with those who have undergone surgery.

“This isn’t something that might happen in the future, it’s a global problem happening right now. Everyone has a part to play in tackling the issue as without urgent action we could live in a world where common infections, minor injuries and routine operations could become a lot riskier.

“The message is a very serious one but we wanted to do something that was a little different to make it a memorable one and we think we’ve done that with this unique music video performed and produced with the help of our staff and patients.”

The video can be watched on the Trust’s YouTube channel.

The national Public Health England ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign urges the public to always trust their doctor, nurse or pharmacist’s advice as to when they need antibiotics and if they are prescribed, take antibiotics as directed and never save them for later use or share them with others.

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