Antibiotic use rose by 2.4% year-on-year in 2023 and prescribing levels are now in line with those seen in 2019, according to national surveillance data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The increases were seen across the majority of antibiotic groups, with penicillins accounting for the most frequently prescribed antibiotic group in primary and secondary care.

The figures also show that antibiotic resistant infections in 2023 surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with an estimated 66,730 serious antibiotic resistant infections compared to 62,314 in 2019.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria of any kind are less likely to respond to treatment, causing serious complications, including bloodstream infections, sepsis and hospitalisation.

According to UKHSA, people who get a bacterial infection that is resistant to one or more antibiotics are more likely to die within 30 days compared to those who have an antibiotic sensitive infection.

The English Surveillance of Antibiotic Prescribing and Utilisation Report found that nearly two-thirds (65%) of antibiotic resistant bloodstream infections in the last five years were caused by E. coli – a common cause of urinary tract infections, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever.

According to the latest data, people living in more deprived communities were 42.6% more likely to have an antibiotic resistant infection in 2023, compared to those in the least deprived areas. This is higher than in 2019, when the figure was 29.4%.

Overall, from 2019 to 2023, rates of resistant infections in the most deprived populations of England increased by 9.5% in 2023.

Most antibiotic resistant infections are in white ethnic groups (89.8%), while Asian or Asian British ethnic groups have the highest proportion of antibiotic resistant infections (39.4%).

UKHSA said it is working with partners to understand the reasons for these differences and design interventions to tackle them.

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of UKHSA, commented: ‘Increasingly the first antibiotics that patients receive aren’t effective at tackling their infections. That’s not just an inconvenience – it means they are at greater risk of developing a severe infection and sepsis.

‘Our declining ability to treat and prevent infections is having an increasing impact, particularly on our poorest communities.’

UKHSA said it is working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in an effort to combat antibiotic resistance.

Dr Nicola Rose, interim executive director, science and research of MHRA, said: ‘Our purpose is to improve patient safety.

‘Our scientists are working with UKHSA to support interventions to tackle antibiotic resistance, including close collaboration with the emerging microbiome research community, bacteriophage innovators, novel diagnostics developers, and those developing new bacterial vaccines.’

Earlier this year the government pledged to support pharmacist prescribers with tools to reduce unnecessary antimicrobial prescriptions as part of its five-year plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

A version of this article was first published by our sister title Nursing in Practice