Nominee

Frimley Health NHS Trust (Dr Miguel Vella, Dr Li Ling Choo, Dr Iram Lodhi)

Project title: Combating Resistance Through Education: Micro-Sim in Action

Why are you nominating them for this award?

Please provide clear reasons/evidence of how the person has excelled in delivering antimicrobial stewardship quality.
1) I am nominating the clinical teaching fellows for their outstanding contribution to antimicrobial stewardship through their innovative and impactful quality improvement projects. Their work has significantly enhanced awareness, education, and practices related to antimicrobial use within our organisation and the wider community.

The fellows have excelled in delivering targeted education sessions to healthcare professionals and students, focusing on the principles of prudent antimicrobial prescribing and the dangers of resistance. They developed interactive workshops and simulation-based learning modules tailored to address local prescribing challenges, incorporating real-world case studies to engage participants and drive practical change.
A key achievement was the implementation of a prescription monitoring system, which provided invaluable data to identify trends and support evidence-based decision-making. This initiative led to a measurable reduction in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing rates over a six-month period, highlighting the direct impact of their work on clinical practice.

Furthermore, the fellows have actively promoted the Antibiotic Guardian campaign, using social media and local community engagement events to raise public awareness. Their efforts extended to organising school workshops to educate children and families about antibiotic resistance, fostering a culture of stewardship from an early age.

The teaching fellows’ dedication, creativity, and collaborative approach embody the core principles of antimicrobial stewardship. By combining education, data-driven interventions, and public engagement, they have not only achieved tangible results but have also laid the groundwork for sustainable improvements in antibiotic use. Their work demonstrates exceptional leadership and a commitment to addressing antimicrobial resistance—a true example of best practice.

2) “‘Micro-Sim’ is a unique and novel programme launched in December 2024 and continues monthly. It puts medical students in the shoes of Infection Doctors for a few hours. It involves students examining a mannikin to identify the source of infection and teaches students about proper antibiotic use, AMR, source-control and more. Students experience life as a doctor on the ward but also the infection doctor reviewing notes, verbal information and results to give safe and appropriate advice. The session is engaging, interactive and uses colourful charts and newsletters to aid learning. Cases included MRSA, cellulitis, line infections, pyelonephritis in pregnancy, cholecystitis and more.

Medical school coverage of real-life practical microbiology learning is limited making new doctors vulnerable to prescribing errors. This initiative transcends placements, specialties and body systems to support students to improve their knowledge and skills in a supportive environment. It promotes a culture of team working between clinical, infection and microbiology teams. The feedback has been excellent with students reporting the course as a highlight of their programme! There are plans to expand the programme both locally and regionally. I believe the outstanding and inspirational work of the clinical teaching fellows team makes them worthy recipients of this award.

Nominee

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (Dr Geofrey Musanje)

Why are you nominating them for this award?

Please provide clear reasons/evidence of how the person has excelled in delivering antimicrobial stewardship quality.

A health partnership between Makerere University and Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda and Nottingham Trent University and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust in the UK was formed in 2019 to deliver a Commonwealth Partnership for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) project with the aim of strengthening antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in Wakiso District, Uganda.

Since then, a Centre of Excellence has been formed with the above organisations to support additional spoke sites including Nakaseke and Gombe Hospitals. These spoke sites aim to:

• improve community and healthcare worker’s knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR);
• increase infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in the hospital and community; and
• introduce AMS practices with data collection, education and training and quality improvement projects.

Throughout this project, Dr. Geofrey Musanje has shown great leadership, commitment, and passion for AMS activities which has been driven through the formation of an AMS committee at Nakaseke Hospital. He has engaged the District Health, Veterinary and Environmental Health Offices to ensure activities are approached from a One-Health perspective. Geofrey has spearheaded several activities including:

1. “Sanitation and Hygiene for All Week: A Key to Sustainable Health Living” at Toggo Primary School, Kapeeka, Nakaseke. Education and training were provided on sanitation and hygiene and childhood vaccinations were encouraged. In addition, 17% of homes without toilets were identified with subsequent plans for construction.

2. Sensitisation and awareness raising using AMS and IPC materials for patients and healthcare workers at Nakaseke Hospital, supported by the Medical Superintendent.

3. WAAW plans with AMS talks to a diverse range of the community, including hospital cleaners, Boda Boda drivers, food vendors near the hospital, secondary school pupils and staff, health workers during Continuous Medical Education sessions and the organisation of mass media sensitisation. During this there was an appreciation of everyone’s role in preventing the spread of infection.