This week’s leadership message comes from Sarah Chadwick, AMR Programme Manager, NHS West Yorkshire ICB

Posted on: 21 November 2025

Image of Sarah Chadwick Hello my name is Sarah

This week marks the start of World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week - a global campaign with the 2025 theme: ‘Act now. Protect our present. Secure our future’. I want to share why AMR matters to me - not just professionally, but personally.

My interest in microbes began with my little brother, Steven. He was seven when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and spinal cancer, and much of our time was spent in children’s cancer units. The word ‘infection’ carried particular weight, and antimicrobials were lifelines, giving many families, including ours, precious extra time together.

In the middle of this, I saved for my first microscope and examined anything I could. Nothing in the house escaped my attempts to slide it under the lens and marvel at the ‘unseen’. It surprised no one when my first job was in the hospital laboratory - first in haematology and later in microbiology. That was where I first began to understand resistance.

Fleming’s discovery - and a warning

In 1928, Alexander Fleming noticed a patch of mould killing bacteria on a petri dish - the birth of penicillin. It transformed medicine: lifesaving in wartime, in childbirth, cancer care, and so much else we now take for granted. Antibiotics also helped bring childhood mortality to historic lows. Before they existed, infections like pneumonia, meningitis, sepsis or even simple ear and throat infections were major causes of childhood deaths. Antibiotics changed that almost overnight.

But even in 1945, Fleming warned that misuse would lead to resistance. 80 years on, infections once easily treated - pneumonia, UTIs and gonorrhoea - are becoming harder to manage. Drug-resistant infections kill 1.25 million people deaths globally each year.

Antibiotics are powerful - but not harmless

We often think of antibiotics as routine and safe, but they can disrupt healthy gut bacteria, causing diarrhoea, and can sometimes allow infections like Clostridioides difficile to take hold.

Some antibiotics also carry very serious side effects, and many can cause common, mild side effects such as stomach upset. It’s important to distinguish these from an allergy, which involves an immune response like a rash, swelling, or breathing difficulty. Confusing the two can lead to unnecessary fear, when a medicine, like penicillin, may actually be the safest, most effective choice. Most coughs, colds, sore throats and flu-like illnesses are viral and get better on their own. The same is true for some dental or ear infections.

Clearing up common misconception

People don’t become resistant – bacteria do
Resistant infections don’t only affect those who have taken many antibiotics. Resistant bacteria spread between people and through food, water and the environment
AMR isn’t only about using fewer antibiotics. It’s about safer, appropriate use

Vaccination helps protect antibiotics

Preventing infections means fewer antimicrobials in the first place. Vaccines make a huge difference by reducing illnesses like flu and COVID-19 and the secondary bacterial infections that can follow. Fewer infections mean fewer antibiotic prescriptions - and fewer chances for resistance to develop.

Keeping up to date with routine vaccinations, including influenza and the MenACWY vaccine for young adults, is one of the simplest ways to protect these medicines.

AMR work in West Yorkshire

Across West Yorkshire, teams are working together to tackle AMR, including:
Infection prevention and control specialists preventing outbreaks
Pharmacists and medicines optimisation teams ensuring people receive the right medicine at the right time
Laboratory teams identifying resistance
Public health teams running education campaigns in communities and schools
Clinicians and care providers across all settings
Research teams advancing innovation
Our improving population health AMR fellows, communication and other colleagues all working on this shared challenge

What you can do this awareness week

Join the campaign
Only take antibiotics prescribed for you
Don’t buy unprescribed antibiotics online or abroad
Return unused antibiotics to your local pharmacy for safe disposal - never keep, share, throw in the bin or flush them away. It protects you, your family and the environment.
Keep vaccinations up to date and practise good hygiene
Talk about AMR

AMR may be invisible, but its impact is real. Small actions today can secure a safer future tomorrow.

Find out more:

Seriously Resistant – our West Yorkshire campaign on using antibiotics wisely
Antibiotic Guardian – make your personal pledge
WY ICB NHS AMR animations – short films on preventing infection and reducing antibiotic use
UKHSA Andi-biotic films

Thank you for reading

Sarah

For Carers Rights Day this week, we also have a blog by Jo Lancaster, Senior Project Manager, NHS West Yorkshire ICB.

Hello my name is Jo.

Carers Rights Day is always a good moment to pause and reflect, but this year’s theme ‘know your rights, use your rights’ really resonates. I currently work full time at the ICB while caring for my adult son, Toby, who has Down’s Syndrome and other complex medical needs. We’re also navigating the shift from children’s services to adult services. It’s a big transition, and honestly, it can feel overwhelming. There are so many moving parts different agencies, forms, assessments, appointments and all while trying to keep up with work and everyday life.

Understanding my rights as a carer has made a huge difference. Whether it’s knowing I can request flexible working, take carer’s leave, or access a carer’s assessment, having that knowledge has given me the confidence to speak up and not just for Toby but for myself too. It’s a reminder that being a carer doesn’t mean you have to carry everything alone or stay quiet about what you need.

The move to adult services has been a real eye-opener. Things that used to be familiar now come with new processes, new people and new paperwork. It’s easy to feel lost in it all. But knowing my rights has helped me stay grounded and focused. It’s given me the tools to ask questions, push for clarity, and make sure we’re getting the support we need.

What's been happening this week?

ICB organisational change

The latest ICB organisational change update is available on our website.

New edition of In the Loop podcast

In the latest edition of their podcast, Niall Dickson CBE and Roy Lilley talk to the Partnership’s lead CEO, Rob Webster CBE, about the challenges currently facing the health and care sector.

You’re not alone’ campaign tackles mental health struggles across Bradford District and Craven

A new campaign launched last week to support the mental wellbeing of thousands of residents in Bradford District and Craven during the challenging winter months.

The ‘You’re not alone’ winter initiative, led by the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership, provides practical help and direct access to local support for those affected by winter loneliness and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Find out more on the Healthy Minds website.

Disco therapy helping stroke patients on the road to recovery at Pinderfields Hospital

Stroke patients at Pinderfields Hospital are finding joy on their recovery journey through a new initiative led by one of the ward’s Occupational Therapists.

Recognising the therapeutic power of music, Louise Hewitt, Occupational Therapist, has introduced a weekly “Disco in the Bay” - a gentle, inclusive session featuring music, soft disco lights and glow sticks. These sessions aim to support physical rehabilitation whilst lifting spirits and encouraging social interaction. Find out more on the Trust website.

Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust recruits first European patient to new COPD clinical trial

The Trust has become the first site in Europe to recruit a patient to a major international clinical trial investigating a potential new treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

This is a significant milestone both for the Trust and for the region’s Bradford and West Yorkshire Commercial Research Delivery Centre, demonstrating how local NHS teams are contributing to world-leading research that could improve the lives of people with chronic conditions. Find out more on the Trust website.

World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week 2025

This coming week, 18 – 24 November, is World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW) – a global campaign to raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the steps we can all take to protect drugs like antibiotics for the future.

Antimicrobial resistance is already affecting healthcare. Infections are becoming harder to treat, and without urgent action we risk losing the effectiveness of medicines we rely on for routine operations, cancer treatment, and caring for the most vulnerable patients.

The NHS in West Yorkshire is focusing this year’s campaign on two key messages:

Access antibiotics safely – only if prescribed by an NHS healthcare professional. Avoid buying them overseas, online, or “under the counter”, as these may be unsafe or ineffective.
Dispose of them responsibly – return any unused or expired antibiotics to your local pharmacy. Never throw them away or flush them, as this can harm the environment and contribute to resistance.

There is also a particular focus on antibiotic prescribing for children. A new national patient safety measure will track prescribing in primary care to ensure antibiotics are only given when absolutely necessary.

By working together – as staff, patients, carers and communities – we can use antibiotics wisely, dispose of them safely, and protect these life-saving medicines for the future. Find out more and access resources on our website

Empowering health and wellbeing through community-based wellness check

In Wakefield District, three voluntary community organisations joined forces to bring health and wellbeing support closer to home. Together, they offered free healthy lifestyle screenings and awareness activities at Havercroft and Ryhill Community Learning Centre, St Mary’s Community Centre and Red Roof Community Centre.

The aim is to help people spot issues early and feel confident getting support for conditions like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cancer. By connecting health, wellbeing and employment services more closely, we hope to ensure no one misses out on the help they need.

The project is part of Healthy Working Life - a joint programme of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board. Read more on our Healthy Working Life case study website pages.