Antibiotics consumption rate of Access antibiotics (secondary care)

Last updated on Thursday, 4 June 2026 at 03:26pm

Summary

• Topic: antibiotics
• API name: antibiotics_consumption_awareAccess

Rationale

Antibiotic prescribing and antibiotic resistance are inextricably linked, as overuse and incorrect use of antibiotics are major drivers of resistance. This dashboard presents publicly available data intended to raise awareness of antibiotic prescribing patterns and to inform ongoing and developing antimicrobial stewardship efforts.

Definition

This metric provides an overview of the consumption of Access antibiotics in secondary care. The rate represents antibiotic use measured as defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day (DID).

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated the Essential Medicines List (EML) and classified key antibiotics into three AWaRe categories (Access, Watch and Reserve) to improve access to first-line antibiotics (Access), monitor antibiotics with a higher resistance potential (Watch) and preserve the effectiveness of ‘last resort’ antibiotics (Reserve). These classifications have since been refined through a UK four-Nations-led modified Delphi consensus process, with the Department of Health advisory committee on antibiotic prescribing, resistance and healthcare-associated infection (APRHAI), for use in UK antimicrobial stewardship.

Methodology

Antimicrobials are classified using the World Health Organization (WHO) Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical / Daily Defined Dose (ATC/DDD) index (2023).

Data for antibiotics covered all agents in the ATC group ‘J01’ (antibiotics for systemic use) and 4 additional oral agents used to treat Clostridioides difficile infections: fidaxomicin (A07AA12), metronidazole (P01AB01), tinidazole (P01AB02) and vancomycin (A07AA09).

Mid-year population estimates (inhabitants) for each year were extracted from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Hospital admission data for each year are retrieved from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) supplied by NHS Digital.

Caveats

Drugs are only included in the numerator if they have a British National Formulae (BNF) 5.1 code.

The data for any new quarter are provisional and will be updated with more accurate admissions and prescribing data in the subsequent quarter’s data release. The rates of consumption for past quarters may therefore change to reflect this.

The figures produced in this indicator are raw and unadjusted for the confounding effects of both age and sex on antimicrobial prescribing. For that reason, comparison between different organisations should be treated with caution.

The case mix of patients attending hospitals during the COVID-19 surge period (Q1 2020/21) is likely to differ significantly from their “normal” demographics. Therefore, comparisons of rates before and during the pandemic should be treated with caution

Missing data can occur for various reasons, such as merging with another provider, changed name or failed to meet the minimum number to conform with NHS Digital rules on confidentiality.

The method of consultations in the community during the COVID-19 surge period (Q2 2020) is likely to be different from the pre-pandemic period. Therefore, comparisons of the data before and during the pandemic should be treated with caution.