TARGET toolkit and other resources

The TARGET antibiotic toolkit was designed to support primary care clinicians to champion and implement AMS activities. The ultimate objective is to minimise the effects of antibiotic resistance. The contents are supported and hosted by the Royal College of General Practitioners. 

There are some materials specifically for community pharmacists and their teams, as well as others intended for use by all health professionals. 

Two particularly useful leaflets are ‘Treating Your Infection – RTI’ and ‘Treating Your Infection – UTI’, which are for use jointly with the patient during the consultation. These combine checklists of key symptoms together with points for treatment. The leaflets have been shown to address patient concerns, empower patients to self-manage, and improve patient recall and satisfaction. 

Importantly, they standardise the advice given by different prescribers and patients will become used to seeing them in different primary care settings. The respiratory tract infection leaflet covers acute otitis media, sore throat and sinusitis, as well as coughs and colds.

An important concept to encourage is that antibiotics are not intended for acute symptom relief – but many patients may expect this. Whether they are given antibiotics, or not, all patients should be provided with advice about how to best use OTC products to reduce their discomfort or pain. The ‘When Should I Worry’ booklet (discussed later) includes information on giving fluids, avoiding a smoky atmosphere, and using paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Another useful source of patient information is NHS Health. This gives guidance on the use of symptomatic therapy for all the common infections and is a valuable resource to which patients can be directed. Similar information is available in Wales – Choose Well and Scotland – NHS Inform