Report of the Prescribing Subgroup of the Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance (SACAR).

This report describes the work of the Human Prescribing Subgroup of the Department of Health (DH) Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance over a period of 3 years from 2003. It describes the coordination and outputs from the DH Pharmacy Initiative for promoting prudent use of antibiotics in hospitals. The production and dissemination of a template have supported this and have provided a format for acute hospitals to develop antimicrobial guidelines. Engagement with key stakeholders has enabled antimicrobial use and resistance to be highlighted as an important policy issue. Work with the Healthcare Commission has informed the development of high-level indicators that have been incorporated into national audits of acute hospitals and recommendations in a national report 'The Best Medicine'. The development of a quantitative database of antimicrobial usage has been an important feature of this work. Three annual national multidisciplinary conferences have been organized where work has been presented.