Reckless' Antibiotic Prescribing Fuelling Superbugs As Some GPs Prescribing Twice As Much As Others [United Kingdom]

Family doctors in some areas are handing out twice as many antibiotics than others as former health minister condemns 'reckless' prescribing for fuelling superbugs.  GPs in some areas of England are prescribing more antibiotics per 100,000 people than others, an investigation by the Daily Telegraph has found.  The figures raise questions over over-use of the drugs after doctors admitted issuing antibiotics to appease middle class parents and get rid of patients faster.

Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies said GPs needed to act urgently to curb prescribing.  It follows a study which showed that prescribing rates actually increased after a government advertising campaign aimed at cutting use of antibiotics for coughs and colds as they do not work against viruses.  The use of antibiotics continues to grow despite fears that inappropropriate prescribing is fuelling superbugs that could spell disaster for routine medical treatments and operations as they would become too dangerous.

Former health minister, Lord Darzi, Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, said 'reckless' prescribing of antibiotics was threatening to end the era of safe medicine.  NHS data shows that there is a 125 per cent difference in antibiotic prescribing between the top and bottom clinical commissioning group area.
In Camden, north London, there were 40,102 prescriptions written for antibiotics for every 100,000 people in 2013/14 compared with 89,763 in South Tees...