IAC (028) 35 11 33 33 Emergency (028) 35 11 35 00 Infectious Disease Antibiotic Stewardship Programme IAC (028) 35 11 33 33 Emergency (028) 35 11 35 00 Infectious Disease Antibiotic Stewardship Programme Sub: Protecting patients today by preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics for tomorrow. Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious threats to global health. It is largely driven by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, in hospitals and in the community. At FV, we take this seriously, not as an abstract concern, but as a clinical responsibility that affects every patient in our building. FV’s Antibiotic Stewardship Programme (ASP) is led by the Infectious Disease Department and operates across the entire hospital. Its purpose is straightforward: ensure that every antibiotic prescription at FV is the right drug, at the right dose, for the right duration, for the right patient. What this means in practice: Formulary management – selecting which antibiotics are available at FV and placing appropriate restrictions on the most powerful agents, which are reserved for cases where they are truly needed The FV Antibiotic Treatment Handbook – an evidence-based internal guide developed and maintained by our team, giving every FV physician a clear, up-to-date reference for antimicrobial prescribing Prescription review – oversight and approval of restricted antibiotic prescriptions, ensuring that high-stakes choices are reviewed by a specialist Resistance surveillance – ongoing monitoring of antimicrobial resistance patterns at FV, with findings fed back to clinical teams to inform prescribing Physician education – regular continuing medical education (CME) on infectious disease updates and antibiotic use Patient education – development of patient education materials on key infectious diseases and the importance of completing antibiotic courses For patients, the ASP means something simple but important: the antibiotics prescribed during your care at FV have been chosen carefully. Not reflexively, not routinely, but precisely. —
