NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has become the first Scottish health board to be formally recognised for its work on antimicrobial stewardship and tackling the threat of antibiotic resistance.
GAMSAS (Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme) has awarded NHSGGC with Level Three accreditation, while also designating it as a Centre of Excellence.
It follows a two-day visit from inspectors in August as part of the global accreditation process.
The visit was hosted by members of NHSGGC’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Team (AMT), led by Professor Andrew Seaton, a Consultant in Infectious Diseases and General Medicine and Chair of the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing group in Healthcare Improvement Scotland.
GAMSAS, which was introduced in 2022, is a points-based accreditation scheme developed by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) that aims to drive and spread improvements in antimicrobial stewardship in acute healthcare settings.
NHSGGC was the first Scottish health board to go through the accreditation process, with hundreds of pages of evidence submitted as part of the review.
A panel of inspectors from GAMSAS heard presentations from Prof Seaton, AMT Lead Pharmacist Ysobel Gourlay, AMT Lead Microbiologist Mairi Macleod, Medical Director Dr Scott Davidson, Specialist OPAT nurse Liz Collison, Antimicrobial Pharmacist Rachael Rodger and Lead Infection Prevention and Control Consultant Dr Linda Bagrade.
They also visited the health board’s OPAT service at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Drug resistant infections due to antimicrobial or antibiotic resistance is a growing problem with the World Health Organization describing it as one of the top threats to public health.
NHSGGC’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme carries out surveillance, education and interventions to ensure these medicines are used safely and sustainably in hospitals as well as in primary care settings.
The overall aim is to protect and preserve antibiotic effectiveness to keep them working for the management of future patients with infections and to limit the growth of resistant infections.
Prof Seaton said: “We are delighted to become the first health board in Scotland to receive this global antimicrobial stewardship accreditation, and to be named as a Centre of Excellence.
“This process was a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the work NHSGGC has been doing over the last 20 years to tackle antimicrobial resistance across many different disciplines including pharmacy, nursing, microbiology, infectious diseases and infection prevention and control teams.
“Antimicrobial stewardship is everyone’s business and we are really proud of the incredible engagement frontline staff have in stewardship in their everyday roles.
“I’m very grateful to everyone who attended and contributed to these events and to those who supported our visits.”
Dr Scott Davidson, Medical Director of NHSGGC, said: “This accreditation is a fantastic recognition of the exemplary work done on antimicrobial stewardship, and tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance, taking place across our organisation.
“To become the first Scottish health board to receive this accreditation is an amazing achievement, and is a testament to the continuous efforts of Prof Seaton and NHSGGC’s AMT, thank you.”
To find out more about Antimicrobial Stewardship in Scotland please visit
SAPG | Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group
You can also read more about GAMSAS here Home – GAMSAS (ams-accredit.com)
