Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on provision of antimicrobial stewardship education and training in UK health service sites.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antimicrobial stewardship is a cause for serious concern. There is evidence of increased antibiotic usage in many settings and fears of over-use, especially of broad-spectrum antibiotics in patients with COVID-19, raising concerns about potential impact on antimicrobial resistance globally. At the same time, the pandemic has impacted the provision of education and training throughout the health and education sectors, during a period when health services and staff were under unprecedented pressure. All-Wales Antimicrobial Resistance Educators (AWARE) is an interprofessional network of healthcare professionals whose roles include provision of antimicrobial stewardship education in National Health Service health boards across Wales. The aim of this report was to use AWARE project data to study the impact of the pandemic on the provision of antimicrobial stewardship education and training in healthcare settings in Wales in 2020, compared to 2019. Overall, the number of staff reached by education increased by 10%, despite the number of educational sessions falling by 26% and the number of hours of teaching by 43%. Rapid switch to virtual education allowed fewer, shorter, educational sessions, allowing more staff to be reached.