NHS Orkney and Girl Guides award win

An innovative partnership between NHS Orkney and Girlguiding Orkney, aimed at raising awareness of antibiotic resistance, has picked up a national award.

Catriona Innes and Catherine Edwards worked together to develop a challenge badge for Girlguiding members of all ages. The aim was to have fun and spread the word about antibiotic resistance at the same time. At the end of last month it was named the winner in the Children & Family category at the Antibiotic Guardian awards in Birmingham.

“Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats facing the world today,” said Catriona, former lead clinical pharmacist at NHS Orkney.

“The challenge was designed to help raise awareness of what antibiotic resistance means and why it is important to each and every one of us, from Rainbows to the Trefoil Guild, while at the same time having fun with glitter, “snot” & slime!

“We believe that engaging with children and young people and encouraging them to become Antibiotic Guardians is the best way of increasing awareness for future generations and we hope the challenge has gone some way towards achieving this.  By working together we can help to keep the precious resource of antibiotics working now and for the future.”

Marthinus Roos, NHS Orkney Medical Director added: “This project is a great example of working with the community to increase awareness of this vital healthcare issue.

“By taking such an innovative approach, Catriona and Catherine have reached people who might have missed a more ‘traditional’ awareness campaign. Their success is well deserved!”

The challenge badge has since been taken up by Girlguiding groups in other parts of the UK.

The fourth annual Antibiotic Guardian awards form part of the ongoing Antibiotic Guardian campaign which is led by Public Health England in collaboration with UK devolved administrations and professional bodies. The campaign aims to increase commitment and raise awareness among the public and healthcare professionals.