Issue Multidrug-resistant microbes making routine surgery dangerous

Summary

Among the longer-term uncertainties, the report sets out a scenario in which resistance rises quickly. In that case, microbes resistant to multiple drugs could come to dominate healthcare settings. The report warns that routine procedures such as hip replacements and caesarean sections could then become more dangerous. It explains that bacterial AMR was already linked to about 1.3 million deaths worldwide in 2019, twice the toll of malaria, and that severe resistant infections in England rose by 6.6% between 2020 and 2022 to almost 58,000 cases. It also expects that as fewer treatments work, workloads would grow and longer stays would leave fewer hospital beds, increasing pressure on health services.