OUT-OF-HOURS doctors have called on Bolton residents to take action over antibiotics.

GPs from emergency out-of-hours health and dental service BARDOC have urged residents not to demand antibiotics from their doctor.

The call comes as part of wider efforts to tackle antibiotic resistance - one of the world's biggest health problems, according to the World Health Organisation.

Resistance antibiotics were once hailed as wonder drugs but overuse has resulted in current antibiotics becoming useless in treating some conditions, Bury and Rochdale Doctors on Call (BARDOC) warned.

The group provides out-of-hours medical and dental services across Bolton, Heywood, Bury, Middleton and Rochdale.

Out-of-hours GP and BARDOC director, Dr Zahid Chauhan, features in a new film to raise awareness about the threat to human health.

The film, called 'Let’s stop trouble brewing for future generations', will be released ahead of World Antibiotics Awareness Week, which commences on Monday, November 13.

In the film, Dr Chauhan says: "Bacteria are clever things and they are always changing and they find ways of becoming resistant to treatment like antibiotics. If you have a low immune system and antibiotics don't work anymore, you could be in danger of picking up a very serious infection which could result in conditions like sepsis.

"If we don’t find alternatives to antibiotics, people will die from simple conditions like pneumonia."

Currently, some 12,000 people die from antibiotic resistance infections in the UK each year.

BARDOC has teamed up with Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK) to encourage residents to reduce the impact of the problem.

The organisations urged residents not to challenge doctors to hand over antibiotics and to only use antibiotics when they are prescribe by a health carer.

Further calls include not using old or out-of-date antibiotics, and urging residents to wash their hands and being hygienic to stop the growth of infections.

To highlight the problem, ANTRUK has invited communities to host a Great British Tea Party, to talk about the issue and raise money to fund research into modern medicines.

Chief executive of ANTRUK, Professor Colin Garner, said: "The Great British Tea Party is a fine, fun and friendly way to raise this vital subject and do something practical to solve it.

"The event may also be a great way to get to know your community, beat isolation and show the rest of society that you care about our health now and that of our children and grandchildren."

To order a tea party fundraising pack visit www.antibioticresearch.org.uk or call 01904 468719.

The film can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ3w94RnDJg&t=3s.