Pharmacy quality scheme
The Community Pharmacy – Pharmacy Quality Scheme is part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework: financial year 2026 to 2027.
The scheme rewards community pharmacies for delivering quality criteria that support clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient experience.
Pharmacy quality scheme 2026/27
The full details of the scheme 2026/27 can be found in the Drug tariff: part VIIA.
Contractors need to keep evidence of completion of various domains. The evidence requirements are specified in the Drug tariff.
Details of the current scheme are below:
Gateway
Aims and rationale
To continue work from the previous scheme; to maintain continuity in access to palliative and end of life care medicines.
Details
Contractors must:
- update their ‘directory of services’ profile to confirm if the pharmacy stocks the 16 palliative and end-of-life care medicines
In addition, all contractors are required to have:
- a new or updated action plan to support patients to obtain palliative and end-of-life care medicines locally
- completed the questionnaire to evaluate the value of palliative and end-of-life care criteria in the scheme.
Medicines optimisation and patient safety
Asthma guidelines
Aims and rationale
To support pharmacists to update their asthma knowledge in line with new Asthma pathway.
Details
- by the end of 31 March 2027, all pharmacists working at the pharmacy on the day of the declaration must have completed either the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education’s (CPPE’s) Asthma for Pharmacy Quality Scheme 2026/27 e-learning programme or unit 4 of the CPPE’s Fundamentals of respiratory therapeutics e-learning since 19 February 2025 (when the e-learning was updated in line with the new clinical guideline)
- pharmacists must also have passed the Asthma e-assessment (between 19 February 2025 and 31 March 2027)
Safe Management of urgent repeat medicines supply requests and referrals
Aims and rationale
Following the Charlie Marriage: prevention of future deaths report and following feedback from controlled drug accountable officers on the inappropriate supply of controlled drugs, this criterion focuses on the safe management of urgent repeat medicines supply requests.
Details
Contractors must have updated all relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) and ensured that all pharmacy staff are familiar with the updated SOPs, to include specific guidance on:
- how urgent requests for time-critical medicines are dealt with
- how urgent requests for controlled drugs are managed in line with regulations
Professional practice
Aims and rationale
To help develop a culture of self-audit that ensures pharmacists are comfortable with reflective practice, via a clinical audit that is focussed on the quality of Pharmacy First clinical pathways consultations. The criterion also ensures that systems are in place for peer review and governance in light of the increased clinical complexity and risk the move to independent prescribing may bring to pharmacy.
Details
- completion of the clinical audit (details will be published on this webpage from August 2026) which is about the quality of Pharmacy First clinical pathways consultations
- development of an action plan for improving practice
- peer review (approximately 1 to 2 hours) of the findings of the audit and the action plan with a ‘buddy’ pharmacist
Further information
Further information on the scheme for 2026/27 can be found on the Community Pharmacy England website.
Details of previous scheme outcomes can be found on the NHS England website and the Community Pharmacy England website.
Further resources are available on NHS England’s pharmacy quality scheme outcomes page.