TARGET Antibiotics Toolkit
To access the ‘Antibiotic Resistance in Primary Care’ e-learning module, please go here.
What is TARGET?
TARGET stands for: Treat Antibiotics Responsibly, Guidance, Education, Tools
The TARGET Antibiotics Toolkit aims to help influence prescribers’ and patients’ personal attitudes, social norms and perceived barriers to optimal antibiotic prescribing. It includes a range of resources that can each be used to support prescribers’ and patients’ responsible antibiotic use, helping to fulfil CPD and revalidation requirements.
Who is it for, and how can it be used?
The TARGET Antibiotics Toolkit is designed to be used by the whole primary care team within the GP practice or out of hours setting. These resources can be used flexibly, either as standalone materials or as part of an integrated package. We do recommend that ALL resources are used if this is feasible.
Using the resources in the TARGET Antibiotics Toolkit will enable primary care organisations to demonstrate compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. The Toolkit also supports recommendations made in the recent NICE guideline: Antimicrobial stewardship: systems and processes for effective antimicrobial medicine use published August 2015 and is linked within the guideline.
The Toolkit includes:
Background information about TARGET
Why develop the TARGET resources?
No action today means no cure tomorrow’ - Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director General, 2011
'Antimicrobial resistance poses a catastrophic threat. If we don't act now, any one of us could go into hospital in 20 years for minor surgery and die because of an ordinary infection that can't be treated by antibiotics.' - Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, March 2013
In the UK, 80% of antibiotic prescribing occurs in primary care, with over half for respiratory tract infections. The inappropriate use of antibiotics is related to bacterial resistance, so using antimicrobials responsibly should help control it
TARGET was developed by the Antimicrobial Stewardship in Primary Care (ASPIC) collaboration which was established in 2009 and includes:
• Public Health England PHE
• Royal College of General Practitioners RCGP
• Department of Health DoH
• British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy BSAC
• Care Quality Commission CQC
• British Infection Association BIA
• National Prescribing Centre NPC
• Infection Prevention Society IPS and British Paediatric Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Diseases Group BPAIIG
• Royal College of Nursing RCN
• Health Protection Scotland
• Public Health Wales and Northern Ireland
• NHS Information Centre
• interested GPs, pharmacists and microbiologists
Resources for commissioners
Leaflets to share with patients
Templates for accurate and easy auditing, including Read codes, current guidance and action plan
Go to Audit Toolkits
National Antibiotic Management Guidance
CPD training resources to help fulfil CPD and revalidation requirements, including group training presentations and e-learning modules
Go to Training resources
Resources for clinical and waiting areas
Self assessment checklist