People across the Midlands are being asked to return unused antibiotics to their community pharmacy for safe disposal as part of an Antibiotic Amnesty for World AMR Awareness Week organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which takes place from 18-24 November.

Patients can return part or full packs of antibiotics to any of the community pharmacists taking part in the Antibiotic Amnesty during November, but community pharmacies will accept household medicines at any time of year.

Last year, nearly 900 packs of medicines were returned to pharmacies during the amnesty.

People are being reminded that they should only ever take antibiotics that have been prescribed to them and to finish the course unless instructed by a healthcare professional.

Antibiotics should never be saved to be used later, and never given to someone else. Holding onto unused antibiotics and taking them without a prescription increases the risk of antimicrobial resistance. This is where the antibiotics become less effective as the bugs learn to protect themselves against them, and this is a threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment.

Throwing old or unwanted antibiotics away in household rubbish or down the sink or toilet will harm the environment and could increase the risk of harmful bugs in the environment.

Antibiotic resistance continues to be one of the biggest health threats facing the world today. Without effective antibiotics, many routine treatments will become increasingly dangerous, as they rely on access to antibiotics that work.

This is the third year the amnesty has run across the Midlands. During November 2022, more than 340 community pharmacies in the Midlands took part in the amnesty. Pharmacists reported 4,678 conversations with members of the public about its importance for patient safety.

The campaign is also encouraging pet owners to return unused antibiotics to veterinary practices for safe disposal, as antimicrobial resistance is a threat to our pets as well.

Richard Seal, Regional Chief Pharmacist (Midlands), said: “Following previous successful Antibiotic Amnesty campaigns, I would encourage everyone to check their cupboards and drawers for any old or used antibiotics.

“Returning them to your local pharmacy for safe disposal will help to limit the spread of antimicrobial resistance in the Midlands by reducing the amount of antibiotics that end up in the environment.

“This is a simple action that people can take to make sure we keep antibiotics working for the future.”

Find out more about antibiotic resistance and whether your local pharmacy is taking part.

Notes for editors

Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to human and animal health. The World Health Organisation lists AMR as one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development. A former Secretary-General, Dr Margaret Chan warned that AMR could lead to ‘the end of modern medicine as we know it’ in 2016. The former Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies described AMR as a ‘catastrophic threat’ in 2013. The response needed to tackle this threat is comprehensive and requires a coordinated approach; to this end the UK government has developed a 20 year vision to contain and control AMR and has a 5 year national action plan with targets to achieve by 2024.

A recent paper published in the Lancet highlighted that almost 5 million deaths in 2019 were related to AMR, with almost 1.3 million directly attributable to AMR.

A previous report commissioned by the UK government, led by Lord Jim O’Neill, estimated that by 2050 the world could see more deaths due to AMR than cancer and diabetes combined, with 10m deaths per annum possible.

UN Environmental Programme identified antimicrobials as being one of the top 6 environmental pollutants of concern in 2017.

There is increasing recognition of the degree of contamination of the world’s waterways by pharmaceuticals; with rivers in 4 out of 5 continents showing significant levels of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113947119j).

An OECD report found that 63% of household medicines in the UK are disposed of in household waste, with 11% being flushed down a toilet or sink. These findings are echoed in many other studies around the world.

A recent House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee report identified the risks of AMR due to the release of untreated sewage and antibiotics into UK rivers. A recent study, commissioned by Surfers Against Sewage showed that surfers were almost three times more likely to carry a strain of resistant bacteria in their gut than non-surfers; this was believed to be due to increased exposure of surfers to seawater contaminated with resistant bacteria due to sewage.

Traces of antibiotics can be found in discharge effluents from sewage treatment works (Environment Audit committee report); these amounts may drive the development of resistance in bacteria in the environment. The discharge of untreated sewage into rivers and seas increases the risk of people and animals using those waters being colonised or infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria. England’s Chief Medical Officer recently issued a joint press release with the Environment Agency and Ofwat chairs, highlighting the risks of AMR in the environment by the release of untreated sewage into waterways in England.

Community pharmacies are ideally placed to support the return of antibiotics for safe disposal to limit AMR. Almost 1.6 million people visit a community pharmacy every day in the UK (PSNC 2022), and almost all antibiotics issued by GPs will be dispensed via a community pharmacy. Over 70% of the antibiotics issued in the UK are issued by GPs (ESPAUR report 2021).

Evidence shows that people disposed of medicines safely when given information on how to do so by a healthcare professional (Vellinga et al 2014), and with approximately 90% of people in England living within a 20 minute walk from their community pharmacy, pharmacists are at the forefront of delivering this important public health message.