Our HPRU is now entering its sixth and final year. In the preceding five, we have conducted a broad range of research with relevance to Health protection, some of which is already starting to have an impact. 

 

We have assessed the effectiveness and unintended consequence of the national prescribing policy and made important findings about the role of culture and team dynamics in prescribing behaviours which will be important in developing stewardship interventions. Our research into the host and microbial factors affecting transmission have influenced National guidelines for Group B Strep and our health economics work on antimicrobial resistance has been used by NHS improvement in a new toolkit for CCGs.  

 

We are also pursuing work on CPE which has shaped our local NHS IPC service and influenced national practice, and on the development of artificial intelligence and sensor technology to provide much-needed decision support tools for clinical staff.