England saw hundreds of antibiotic-resistant infections per week last year, despite a decrease in both private and NHS antibiotic use, new surveillance data has revealed.
A report published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) today showed that the number of private antibiotic prescriptions supplied by community pharmacies fell 20.8% between 2024 and 2025, from 0.61 to 0.48 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day (DID).
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It also found that between 2019 and 2025, total antibiotic use in the NHS decreased by 10.7%, from 17.8 to 15.9 DID.
It said this reflected “further progress in reducing antibiotic use” in the NHS amid “ongoing efforts to promote best prescribing practices”.
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But UKHSA also revealed that the number of antibiotic-resistant infections in England “continued to rise” last year, with 406 reported cases each week, on average.
This equated to 21,129 cases in total in 2025, up 16.8% from 18,086 in 2019, it said.
Pharmacy First
The report found that antibiotic supply through Pharmacy First “increased substantially” in 2025, up 53% compared to February to December 2024, the first 11 months following the launch of the service.
But it said the “proportion of consultations resulting in an antibiotic supply decreased” last year compared to that period, “suggesting that increased activity was accompanied by proportionally lower antibiotic use”.
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It also noted that private antibiotic consumption “declined for the first time since the pandemic between 2024 and 2025”.
It attributed this dip to “reduced community pharmacy supply, which may reflect changes in healthcare-seeking behaviour, increased use of NHS services such as Pharmacy First and optimisation of antibiotic treatment durations in line with NICE guidance”.
And it said that antibiotics supplied privately represented just 4% of total primary care antibiotic consumption across both NHS and private sectors in England in 2025.
Pharmacists’ role
The report stressed that pharmacy professionals “play an important role in addressing health inequalities in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through their roles in prescribing, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and patient education”.
It said a “rapid scoping review” found that pharmacy teams “have the potential to address inequalities in the prevention and treatment of infection, antibiotic use and AMR”.
But it added that “the evidence remains limited”, particularly on whether pharmacy-led interventions can reduce disparities in health outcomes.
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UKHSA said two workshops were delivered in 2026 to support pharmacy technicians with knowledge and confidence gaps in AMS.
It said “only half of the participants answered all seven knowledge questions correctly in the pre-webinar survey”, increasing to 71.6% in the post-webinar survey.
“Although knowledge levels improved, the findings showed that further support is needed to help pharmacy technicians feel confident taking an active role in stewardship activities,” the health agency added.
“Significant challenges” remain
UKHSA interim chief medical advisor Dr Shona Arora said “it is positive to see signs that ongoing efforts to promote responsible antibiotic use are having an impact, but there are still significant challenges as resistant infections continue to increase”.
She advised people to “remember to only take antibiotics if you have been told to do so by a healthcare professional” and stressed that patients with surplus antibiotics should “take them to a pharmacy which can dispose of them appropriately”.
Read more: UKHSA: AMR knowledge ‘highest’ among doctors and pharmacists
“It’s also important to take up the vaccinations you are eligible for to help stop infections in the first place,” she added.
It comes after UKHSA revealed last November that there has been “no change in resistance” to a common UTI antibiotic following its introduction to the Pharmacy First service.
And it follows a national survey on healthcare professionals’ knowledge about AMR and antibiotic prescribing finding that “levels of knowledge were lowest among pharmacy technicians”.
