These resources were created for pharmacies wishing to run an ‘Antibiotic Amnesty’ to help raise public awareness of antimicrobial resistance and wise use of antibiotics.
An ‘Antibiotic Amnesty’ involves displaying posters encouraging patients to return old and unused antibiotics to the pharmacy for appropriate disposal. We worked with the Ministry of Health and specialist antimicrobial stewardship pharmacists in 2019 on developing these resources:
Downloadable Resources
Poster to download, print and display in the pharmacy
Facebook graphic if you wish to promote the Amnesty via Social Media
Flyer (single-sided version) or Flyer (double-sided version) to download, print and distribute as you wish
Frequently Asked Questions for pharmacy staff to read in preparation for the Amnesty – i.e. answers to questions that patients may ask
Letter or email to GP - suggested wording you could use to communicate about the Amnesty with your local medical practices.
The concept of an ‘Antibiotic Amnesty’ awareness campaign has come from the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust/Imperial College in London, UK where they have taken place in conjunction with World Antibiotics Awareness Week since 2015. Removing unused antibiotics from peoples’ homes has the dual benefit of ensuring safe disposal and reducing the chance that the antibiotics are used later inappropriately for a viral infection or shared with other family members.
