Winning practices encourage more of the profession to sign up for the 2024 campaign
The five veterinary practices that have been recognised for their efforts in the Antibiotic Amnesty campaign last year, are calling on more practices to sign up for the 2024 campaign. Practices can sign up to receive more information about the campaign and download the campaign toolkit here: vet antibioticamnesty – RUMA CA&E (rumacae.org.uk).
The veterinary Antibiotic Amnesty which will run again for the third year this November and is being part sponsored by Zoetis, encourages the public to return out-of-date and unused antibiotics to their veterinary practice to help tackle the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The amnesty is led by a collaboration of UK veterinary organisations, practices and charities to educate owners about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and raise awareness of the importance of the safe use and disposal of these important medicines in order to address AMR and prevent environmental pollution.
The overall winning practice with the highest number of returned antibiotics during the 2023 campaign was Wilbury Vets, located in Hove, which secured the return of 285 tablets, 7 packs of topicals and 6 bottles of oral suspensions. A number of the winning practices have shared case studies about their efforts in a bid to encourage even more practices to sign up this year (details of which can be found overleaf).
Winning practice:
- Wilbury Vets, Hove
Runners up:
- RVC Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, Royal Veterinary College
- Willows Veterinary Centre, Solihull
- Rosemullion Vets, Cornwall
- Leonard Brothers Vets, Shropshire
Steve Howard, Secretary General of The RUMA Companion Animal and Equine Alliance which runs the annual campaign says: “Every single practice that has ever taken part in the veterinary Antibiotic Amnesty should be very proud of their efforts and my congratulations go to the practices that drove the most returns last year. The reality is that any amount of returned antibiotics is a win and it means that these medicines can be disposed of safely, protecting the environment and preventing any complications from misuse.”
Overall, the 2023 veterinary Antibiotic Amnesty saw the return of over 2,458 antibiotic tablets (more than three times the 2022 total), 160 oral antibiotic suspensions (no data from 2022 to compare), 119 topical preparations containing antibiotics (more than double 2022), and 11 antibiotic injections (a small decrease on 2022). A range of antibiotic products including highest priority critically important antibiotics (fluoroquinolones) were also among the medicines returned.
The Antibiotic Amnesty is funded and project managed by RUMA CA&E and this year is also being part sponsored by Zoetis. The Alliance has taken the amnesty on as a flagship campaign aligned to its vision and mission, and will once again be leading and co-ordinating it in 2024. Steve Howard of RUMA CA&E, continues: “We were delighted with the results of the 2023 Antibiotic Amnesty and the year-on-year uplifts in the level of returned of antibiotics, plus the increase in involvement and engagement we saw from right across the industry.
“We are fully aware of the pressures on the profession, so the increase was great to see and we are very grateful to those that took part. However, we know that there is still much work to do to get even more practices onboard this year.
“The overarching aim of an initiative such as this, is to focus attention and efforts both across the profession and in support of educating pet owners of the role they can also play in preventing AMR through antibiotic stewardship (AMS) activities.”
Zoetis is part sponsoring the Antibiotic Amnesty this year. Jonny Lambert, BVetMed MRCVS, CA Veterinary Lead from Zoetis says: “Zoetis is delighted to be a sponsor for the 2024 Veterinary Antibiotic Amnesty campaign which is being delivered by the Responsible use of Medicines Alliance, Companion Animal and Equine (RUMA CA&E). Our vision at Zoetis is a world where veterinary antibiotics are used responsibly in animals, and where they maintain their value as a therapeutic tool. We are also committed to driving One Health collaboration, so for all these reasons, the Veterinary Antibiotic Amnesty aligns brilliantly with our ethos and ongoing One Health and antibiotic stewardship work.
Case study: Wilbury Vets, Hove – overall winner of the Antibiotic Amnesty 2023
The overall winning practice with the highest number of returned antibiotics during the 2023 campaign was Wilbury Vets, which is located in Hove and is part of veterinary group Linnaeus. Wilbury secured the return of 285 tablets, 7 packs of topicals and 6 bottles of oral suspensions.
Client Care Team Leader at Wilbury Vets, Lauren Cooper, says: “2023 was the first time we participated in the Antibiotic Amnesty and the positive results have definitely influenced us to continue to educate clients on the importance of antimicrobial resistance, not only for the benefit of our client’s pets, but also for people and for the sake of our planet. We are delighted to have been recognised as the winning practice which is great recognition for the work put in across the whole team.
“We have a strong environmental ethos across the team and we are proud be a part of the ‘Investors in the Environment’ scheme, currently holding the Silver award, and we are striving towards the ‘Green’ award. We are mindful of how our actions can make a positive change which is why we wanted to get involved in the Antibiotic Amnesty campaign.
“Everyone was onboard right from the start and recognised the importance of the initiative. As well as encouraging conversations in the consulting room, I also knew how important the role of the front of house team would be as we are in the perfect position to spread awareness with our clients too. We talked about the amnesty during the dispensing of medicines and we added reminders about returning unused product on relevant dispensing labels. In addition, we added information about returning unused antibiotics on vaccine reminder communications and we also used our social media channels to highlight the campaign. We will definitely take part again this year and would encourage other practices to do the same as it is a great way to educate owners and there is a really tangible impact as well when the antibiotics are returned.”
Wilbury Practice Manager, Anna Greenwood, says: “The Amnesty campaign coincided with our audit for the Investors in the Environment Silver award, so the timing couldn’t have been better as we were very focused on our sustainability activity. We made the Amnesty a recurring agenda item at practice meetings and responsible antibiotic use forms a regular part of our team discussions. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a problem in both human and veterinary medicine and an amnesty is a brilliant way to focus efforts to help prevent inappropriate use and prevent negative impacts on the environment.
“AMR is on our agenda all the time. We are a practice that always dispenses the minimum antibiotic course, we regularly discuss appropriate use of antibiotics and are always looking at ways we can educate owners. It feels good to be making a difference.”
To view the full case studies from the winner and runner up practices from the 2023 Antibiotic Amnesty use the following links: