Developed in response to the UK Antimicrobial Resistance National Action Plan, the Capability Framework supports the development of specialist AMS career pathways, helping to promote skills retention and succession planning by setting out the capabilities required of healthcare professionals working in specialist antimicrobial stewardship roles.

The Capability Framework forms part of a broader collection of NHS England resources designed to support antimicrobial stewardship workforce development. These include a practical guide to planning the NHS AMS workforce, covering considerations such as the workforce required, where roles are needed, and how many specialist staff are required. As workforce planning is a topic that frequently arises in our National AMS Pharmacists Forum, we expect these resources will be of particular interest to many of our members.

Dr Ryan Hamilton, GAMSAS Programme Lead at BSAC, who led the development of the capability framework said:

“This capability framework provides a flexible and future-proofed professional development framework that describes the roles and responsibilities of all members of the AMS team regardless of professional group, level of practice, and sector of care.

It will be useful for individual practitioners to develop their specialist practice in AMS, particularly for those new in role, but should also be used by hospital leaders to ensure AMS teams are supported and enabled to lead and deliver effective AMS programmes. The design and wording of the capability framework should also allow it to be used internationally.”

Explore the Capability Framework and the full suite of NHS England AMS workforce resources here.