The Community Pharmacy – Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) forms part of the Community pharmacy contractual framework (CPCF). PQS is designed to reward community pharmacies for delivering quality criteria that are designed to support clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient experience.

Details of the current scheme are below (click the domain name here to jump to that section):

• Gateway
• Medicines optimisation
• Patient safety

Gateway

Aims and rationale

To ensure that all pharmacies taking part in the PQS are registered to deliver NHS Pharmacy First and the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service.

Details

Contractors need to be signed up and registered to deliver:

• Pharmacy First Service
• Pharmacy Contraception Service

Medicines optimisation

Palliative and end of life care

Aims and rationale

To continue work from previous PQS; to maintain continuity in access to palliative and end of life care medicines.

The aim is for sufficient arrangements to be in place so patients, their relatives and carers, and healthcare professionals can obtain palliative and end of life care medicines in a timely manner, and support dying at home.

Details

• Pharmacies must develop or update a palliative and end of life care action plan.
• If the pharmacy stocks the 16 palliative and end of life care medicines, contractors must update their ‘directory of services’ profile to confirm this.

Respiratory

Aims and rationale

To continue work from previous PQS in reducing morbidity and preventable deaths from asthma through targeted clinical surveillance and evidence-based interventions.

NICE technological appraisal (NICE TA38) guidance recommends the use of spacer devices in combination with press and breathe pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) to achieve optimum asthma management in children between the ages of 5 to 15 years (inclusive).

Addressing Short Acting Bronchodilator (SABA) overuse is important as it can mask underlying inflammation and poor asthma control, leading to increased risk of severe asthma exacerbations, hospitalizations, and even death.

Further details can be found on the NICE website (NG245).

Details

• Referral of patients aged 5 to 15 years who do not have a spacer to general practice,
• Referral of all patients using 3 or more short-acting bronchodilators without any corticosteroid inhaler in 6 months to general practice for an asthma review.

NMS depression training

Aims and rationale

From October 2025, the New Medicine Service (NMS) will be expanded to include depression as an eligible condition. The aim of this training is to support the quality of NMS consultations following this expansion.

The expansion to include depression supports the vision of the NHS Long Term Plan to “make greater use of community pharmacists’ skills and opportunities to engage patients”.

The Long Term Plan also states respectively that “most [mental health] care should be provided in community and primary care settings” and that “new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care” will be developed to support adults with mental health conditions.

Details

• All pharmacists must have completed CPPE consulting with people with mental health problems online training, within the last 4 years (between 1 April 2022 and end of 31 March 2026).

Patient safety

Pharmacy First

Aims and rationale

To assess the appropriateness and rationale for the non-supply of antibiotics in sore throat consultations and to evaluate how community pharmacists are applying clinical assessment criteria, for example, FeverPAIN in making decisions under the NHS Pharmacy First Service.

Details

• Completion of the clinical audit which is about the clinical advice and consultations provided to patients scoring FeverPAIN 0-3 on the Pharmacy First Sore Throat clinical pathway
• All registered professionals must have completed Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) sepsis training within the last 2 years (between 1 April 2024 and end of 31 March 2026).

Emergency hormonal contraception

Aims and rationale

From October 2025 the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service will be expanded to allow all community pharmacies the opportunity to provide free of charge oral emergency contraception (EC) to all individuals of childbearing potential.

The aim of this training is to support the quality of oral EC consultations following this expansion.

Details

All pharmacists, and any pharmacy technicians intending to provide the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service, must complete CPPE emergency contraception training, within the last 3 years (between 1 April 2023 and end of 31 March 2026).

Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks

Aims and rationale

An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is suitable for people working with children or adults in certain circumstances, such as those in receipt of healthcare or personal care.

The DBS helps employers make safer recruitment decisions. The introduction of enhanced DBS checks to community pharmacy brings it into line with other healthcare professions.

Details

Pharmacy contractors must have requested an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check for all registered pharmacy professionals including locums within the last 3 years.

Further information on the PQS scheme for 2025/26 can be found on the Community Pharmacy England website.

Details of previous PQS outcomes can be found on the NHS England website and the Community Pharmacy England website.

Further resources – internal and external – are available from the NHS England patient quality scheme outcomes page.