GPs do not take decision to prescribe antibiotics lightly, College argues

Dr Michael Mulholland, Honorary Secretary of the Royal College of GPs, said: “GPs understand the dangers of infections becoming resistant to antibiotics, and over many years have taken steps to curb antibiotics prescribing where possible. As such, whilst antibiotics are an effective treatment against bacterial infections, GPs will not take the decision to prescribe them lightly, and are trained to do so only if they think it is in the best interests of the health of their patient, taking into account their individual circumstances and clinical guidance.

“The dose and duration of treatment will depend on the type of antibiotic prescribed, the condition it is prescribed for, and its severity.

“As a College, we have worked with partners including the UKHSA to develop the TARGET antibiotics toolkit to support responsible antibiotic use, as well as ongoing efforts to improve patient understanding of antibiotics, and that they are not an appropriate treatment for all infections. What would be helpful is better access to tests to determine whether an infection is bacterial, and therefore antibiotics are more likely to be appropriate.” 

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
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Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.