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Pharmacies in England will be asked to review their management of sore throat patients as part of this year’s Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS), it has been revealed. 

Publishing the details of the 2025-26 PQS clinical audit today (August 12), NHS England revealed it will launch in September and will focus on antimicrobial stewardship in sore throat consultations.

NSHE said antimicrobial resistance is “widely recognised as a major threat to public health,” adding: “Tackling AMR is a UK strategic priority, with the aim of reducing the number of serious infections that are resistant to treatment.” 

Pharmacy teams will be asked to record data from consultations with 10 patients seeking advice on sore throat over a four-week period, which can be extended to eight weeks if it is not possible to record 10 consultations in the first four weeks. 

The audit specifies patients with a FeverPAIN score of 0 to 3, with NHSE adding: “This group of patients includes those who do not pass the gateway point having presented with a sore throat, alongside those who pass the gateway point in the Pharmacy First clinical pathway for sore throat, but who do not meet the criteria for antibiotic supply under the sore throat patient group direction.”

There are five audit standards for pharmacies to meet. These include the provision of the TARGET respiratory tract infection information leaflet to patients and advice on the usual length of sore throat symptoms and what to do if they do not resolve, as well as providing “general information” on antibiotic stewardship and antibiotic use and resistance. 

In addition, consultations with patients who have a FeverPAIN score of 2 or 3 – which qualifies them for the Pharmacy First clinical pathway – must include an examination of the throat and neck, unless it is a remote consultation. 

Contractors will have from September 1, 2025 until February 3, 2026 to start the audit, and must complete it and record consultation data via the NHSBSA portal no later than March 31, 2026. 

Completion of the audit forms one of the criteria for this year’s “smaller than usual” PQS, which has £30m in funding attached to it.