LUTH Becomes First Organisation in Africa to Get BSAC GAMSAS Accreditation

Mary  Nnah

Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) management has announced that its goal of meeting the level of quality required by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme (GAMSAS) has been achieved.

BSAC GAMSAS is a global accreditation scheme that sets a high level of quality that any antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes must surpass to be seen as proficient in the safe and effective usage of antibiotics. 

AMS is a collection of activities that supports safe and effective use of antibiotics without risks of harm or danger which helps keep antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at bay.

Being the first organisation in Africa to achieve BSAC GAMSAS accreditation, LUTH’s accreditation demonstrates her dedication to reducing the threat of AMR globally by supporting healthcare personnel, who are responsible for the safe use of antibiotics.

Speaking on the recently achieved  milestone by LUTH during a press briefing on Tuesday in Lagos, the Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo,  said, “We are proud to be the first organisation in Africa to achieve BSAC GAMSAS accreditation.”

He said that the accreditation process was supported by the BSAC GAMSAS team, and LUTH management acknowledged their assistance.

“BSAC GAMSAS accreditation is a valuable tool for organisations that are committed to improving AMS. It provides a framework for organisations to develop and implement effective and sustainable AMS programmes, and it helps to ensure that these programs are meeting high standards of quality,” Adeyemo added.

Speaking further, he said, “LUTH is committed to providing high-quality care to its patients, adding that  BSAC GAMSAS accreditation is a significant milestone in the institution’s efforts to combat AMR and support antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). We are proud to be recognised for our work in this area.”

Chairman, LUTH Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee and Clinical Microbiologist, College of Medicine, University of Lagos,  Prof. Oyin Oduyebo, said,  “AMR is a growing global health threat. It occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that cause harmful diseases, change over time and no longer respond to medicines that once could treat them effectively due to unnecessary use, inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics because of a lack of awareness of the public. AMR can lead to longer, more expensive hospital stays, increased risks of death, and the spread of infections to others.”

She explained further that AMS is a key strategy for preventing and controlling AMR. It involves a range of interventions, such as: Putting the appropriate use of antibiotics first and promoting it; developing and implementing guidelines for antibiotic prescribing; educating healthcare professionals, patients and the public about AMR and appropriate use of antibiotics as well as monitoring antibiotic use and resistance.

Speaking further, Oduyebo explained that the goal of antimicrobial stewardship was optimising antimicrobial therapy while adding that others were reducing treatment-related costs, minimising adverse events, and decreasing the risk of antimicrobial resistance development.

She said that the GAMSAS accreditation serves as a testament to LUTH’s commitment to antimicrobial stewardship and its dedication to ensuring that antimicrobial drugs continue to be effective for future patients.

Head of LUTH’s Corporate Services Division, Omolola Fakeye, who said that LUTH has fulfilled one of its tenets or accomplishments, added that the accreditation was a significant achievement for the hospital, noting that it represented another step in the right direction for LUTH’s pursuit of excellence in healthcare.

“Its tenets are research training and service, and you can see service and research coming together which now culminate into training. The service to our patients has brought about this antimicrobial stewardship certification. This is because we began to see that there are restrictions to medications, to antibiotics, and that people are taking them wrongly, which necessitated the study”, Fakeye added.