Rakhi Aggarwal

Antimicrobial Expert Advisory Group

Rakhi has been working as a pharmacist for Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Birmingham and Solihull for over 10 years, leading on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) for her organisations.  Rakhi's current role of Senior Prescribing Adviser for Birmingham and Solihull CCG has allowed her to have both strategic and operational input into the AMS agenda locally, regionally and nationally.

Rakhi is the deputy chair of the Birmingham Antibiotic Advisory Group, which is a multi-disciplinary multi-sector clinical committee comprising doctors and pharmacists from primary and secondary care, dental and public health representatives. The group supports the implementation of national guidance, appropriately modified to address local antimicrobial sensitivity patterns as needed, and works closely with the local Area Prescribing Committee on this and other work programmes to champion AMS locally.

The CCG has always placed a high priority on AMS and she have lead on development and delivery of several CCG-wide quality and safety improvement antimicrobial audits.; One current area of focus looks at the importance of accurate penicillin allergy documentation in primary care.  Rakhi has lead and managed numerous local antimicrobial campaigns, involving primary care, community pharmacy, local universities and schools.

Rakhi's early career was in hospital pharmacy in London. Her introduction to primary care was also in London, in a PCT where there was a huge discrepancy in life expectancy within a small geographical area. This opened her eyes to the valuable role pharmacists could play in interventions to improve the quality of prescribing in primary care and confirmed her commitment to development of her career in this sector.

Outside of work, she is a mum of two beautiful young boys, who keep her on her toes!  They spend much of their time reading, baking, and doing crafts together.