Government officials from the ministries of health and education, and academic experts from Peking University and its affiliated hospitals came to Birmingham, backed by the UK’s FCO Prosperity Fund programme.
With a diverse background across medical education, hospital infection, pharmacy, public health and microbiology, delegates learned about topics related to the training and education of Chinese medical students and healthcare professionals in dealing with AMR.
The purpose of the visit was to understand the policies, regulations, and other work adopted by the UK in response to AMR, as well as to discuss future areas of cooperation between the UK and China in responding to AMR and related medical training and education.
Group spokesperson Dr Yu Wang, from Peking University’s School of Public Health, commented: “The AMR education workshop we had at the University of Birmingham was very successful and productive. We received very useful information that we have been looking for.
“Learning about the UK’s experience has inspired us a lot on how we should strengthen our work in China. We very much expect to continue working with the University of Birmingham on AMR education and training so that we can both contribute to reducing this global threat.”
The group began by visiting Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham to learn about the structure and design of the hospital, the different services and facilities offered, and how these may contribute to efforts to tackle AMR.
Delegates participated in a workshop about the education and training of AMR across the hospital and university settings.
Professor KK Cheng, Director of the University’s Institute of Applied Health Research, welcomed the group, whilst Dr Beryl Oppenheim, Consultant Medical Microbiologist and Director of Infection Prevention at QE Hospital, discussed innovative methods of infection prevention and tackling AMR from a hospital perspective.
Jamie Coleman, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Medical Education at the University of Birmingham and Sarah Pontefract, NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, focussed on how AMR education is taught and embedded into the undergraduate curriculum, as well as innovations in e-learning, and management of antimicrobials.
Professor Cheng said: “We are delighted to welcome senior health officials from China to the University of Birmingham, as we play our part in helping to fight the threat of antimicrobial resistance.
“We believe that this visit to Birmingham and the wider UK will be formative in strengthening the policies and implementation plans of AMR training and education aimed at medical students and healthcare professionals.”
Representatives from China and the UK exchanged views on the current situation of antimicrobial resistance education and training, and further explored how the UK experience could be applied to the realities and issues in China.
ENDS
For more information, please contact Tony Moran, International Communications Manager, University of Birmingham on +44 (0) 121 414 8254 or +44 (0)782 783 2312. For out-of-hours enquiries, please call +44 (0) 7789 921 165.
Notes to Editors
- The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries.