On 30 March, the antimicrobial-use optimisation programme VINCat PROA Sociosanitari (Nursing Home) was presented in the auditorium of the Bellvitge University Hospital
The event was aimed at members of the PROA teams from all over Catalonia. It included several speakers speech, as well as the presentation of Dr Montserrat Figuerola, territorial manager of the Southern Metropolitan Area. Other speeches were given by Dr Miquel Pujol Rojo, director of the VINCat programme, and Dr Juan Pablo Horcajada, head of the Infectious Diseases Department of the Hospital del Mar and coordinator of the Catalan VINCat PROA programme.
Nursing homes have a series of particularities that makes them different from acute hospitals, both in terms of the type of patients and the availability of human and structural resources. In addition, there is a high prevalence of infections and high rates of antibiotic prescription, leading to a higher risk of adverse reactions, toxicity, drug interactions and development of resistance.
The Nursing Home VINCat PROA programme has been developed in response to these specific needs, and to create strategies to promote the antimicrobials-use optimisation in these centres and thus improve the clinical evolution of patients, as well as the prevention of antimicrobial resistance.