PGIMER observes Antimicrobial Awareness Week with the release of Antimicrobial Policy for Management of Infections in Adults

PGIMER, Chandigarh achieved a major milestone in its battle against
antimicrobial resistance today when it released the Antimicrobial Policy
for Management of Infections in Adults. The policy document was
released by Prof Jagat Ram, Director, PGIMER to mark the
Antimicrobial Awareness Week.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Jagat Ram said, “Antimicrobial
resistance has been a big concern across the world including our country
and antimicrobial overuse and abuse is the major factor.” The Director
recalled that prescription of antibiotics before any surgery used to be a
routine affair but the increased awareness about the antimicrobial
resistance has made a sea change in the prescription practices.
Prof. Jagat Ram commended the efforts of the Antimicrobial Stewardship
Committee (AMSC) of the Institute for bringing out a comprehensive
document and hoped that this will further strengthen the resolve of the
Institute to promote appropriate use of antibiotics. The guidelines like the
present one goes a long way in establishing a culture of using appropriate
diagnostics for therapy and training of health care staff on best practices
for antimicrobial use, he added.
Prof. Gurpreet Singh, Dean and Chairperson of the AMSC lauded the
efforts of the resource persons who contributed in formulating the policy
taking time out of their routine tasks. He also said that the key to success
of any such initiative is the persuasion and convincing the stakeholders
about the usefulness of the endeavour. Prof. Singh mentioned that this
“PGI model” is often cited in a number of fora nationally.
Prof Nusrat Shafique, Convener of the AMSC briefed the attendees
about the journey of the antimicrobial stewardship in the PGI from
bedside rounds to surveys and finally to the policy. She further informed
that the document will be shared on different platforms and will be
available freely for other hospitals to modify according to their conditions.
She thanked all the contributors who had joined online for their sincere
efforts.
The release was attended by officials from the clinical departments as well
as administration.