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PQS Ready 25/26

Aspiration payment NOW OPEN UNTIL 11.59pm on 16th May 2025.

Please click here to view the CPLSC easy to view PQS 2025/26 Summary document

Please click HERE for PQS Antimicrobial Stewardship clinical audit via the NHS Website.
The Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) 2025/26

The PQS forms part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF).

Initial details of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) 2025/26 were released on 31st March 2025, as part of the arrangements for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) in 2024/25 and 2025/26 and as a Drug Tariff Update.

The 2025/26 scheme began on 1st April 2025 and has a declaration period between 9am on 2nd February 2026 and 11.59pm on 27th February 2026. Pharmacy owners must have evidence to demonstrate meeting the domains that they have claimed for by the end of 31st March 2026. 

 

Gateway Criterion

Pharmacy owners must sign up for the Pharmacy First Service and the Pharmacy Contraception Service by 31st August 2025 and remain registered until the end of the scheme, 31st March 2026, in order to meet the gateway criterion for PQS 2025/26.

  • Verification Process: No declaration is needed from pharmacy owners. The pharmacy’s participation will be verified via a post-payment review.

  • Impact of Non-Compliance: Pharmacy owners will not be eligible for payment for the quality criteria during the declaration period if this gateway criterion is not met.

  • De-registration: If a pharmacy de-registers from the services, it will not be able to re-register for 4 months. Pharmacies de-registering after 1st September 2025 will fail to meet the gateway criteria and will not be eligible for PQS payments. If a pharmacy de-registers after the declaration period but before 31st March 2026, payments will be recovered by NHSBSA

For New Pharmacies or Ownership Changes:

  • New Pharmacies (1st Sept 2025 to 31st Dec 2025): Pharmacies opening during this period must sign up for both the Pharmacy First Service and Pharmacy Contraception Service within 2 weeks of opening under the new ODS code to qualify for PQS payment.

  • New Pharmacies (1st Jan 2026 Onward): Pharmacies opening after 1st January 2026 are not eligible for the gateway criterion and will not qualify for PQS payment for the 2025/26 scheme.

Domain Summaries  

Domain 1 – Medicines Optimisation
Domain 2 – Patient safety

 

Domain 1 – Medicines Optimisation

There are five quality criteria in Domain 1 – Medicines optimisation. All of the quality criteria need to be met to be eligible to claim payment for the domain. The quality criteria are:

  1. Palliative and End of Life Care Action Plan
  2. Consulting with people with mental health problems – CPPE learning
  3. Respiratory: Use of a spacer in patients aged 5-15 years
  4. Respiratory: Referrals for patients using 3 or more short-acting bronchodilator inhalers in 6 months
  5. Emergency Contraception – CPPE learning & e-assessment

1. Palliative and End of Life Care Action Plan

By 31st March 2026, pharmacy owners must update their NHS Profile Manager to show they are a ‘Pharmacy Palliative Care Medication Stockholder’ if they routinely hold the 16 critical palliative and end of life medicines listed below. If the NHS Profile Manager cannot be updated directly, pharmacy owners can contact the Regional DoS lead to update their Directory of Services (DoS) profile.

The 16 Palliative and End of Life Critical Medicines include (but are not limited to):

  • Cyclizine, Dexamethasone, Haloperidol, Metoclopramide, Morphine sulfate, Oxycodone (oral and injection), Sodium chloride, Water for injections.

By 31st March 2026, all pharmacies must have an action plan in place for handling situations where stock is unavailable. This plan must include:

  • Local commissioning arrangements.

  • A list of pharmacies stocking the 16 critical medicines.

  • Access details for parenteral haloperidol.

  • Other support services for patients, relatives, or carers.

The action plan must be retained for three years for post-payment verification.

Resources:

2. Consulting with People with Mental Health Problems – CPPE Learning

Pharmacists must complete the CPPE e-learning on Consulting with People with Mental Health Problems within the last 4 years (between 1st April 2022 and 31st March 2026). There is no e-assessment for this course, so pharmacists need to confirm their completion in their CPPE record to obtain a Certificate of Study.

Evidence must be available for inspection from 31st March 2026, and pharmacy owners must retain records for 3 years for post-payment verification.

Resources:

3. Respiratory: Use of a Spacer in Patients Aged 5-15 Years

By 31st March 2026, pharmacies must check that all children aged 5-15 prescribed a press and breathe MDI for asthma have the appropriate spacer device, in line with NICE TA38. If a spacer is not provided, pharmacists must refer the child to a healthcare professional.

  • If no patients are identified for referral, pharmacies must still show evidence of their attempts to identify suitable patients and have processes in place for referral when needed.

4. Respiratory: Referrals for Patients Using 3 or More Short-Acting Bronchodilator Inhalers in 6 Months

Pharmacies must refer patients with asthma who have been dispensed three or more short-acting bronchodilator inhalers within a six-month period, but without a corticosteroid inhaler, to an appropriate healthcare professional for an asthma review.

  • Similar to the spacer device referral, pharmacies must maintain evidence of referral attempts, even if no patients are identified.

5. Emergency Contraception – CPPE Learning & e-Assessment

To qualify for the expanded Pharmacy Contraception Service, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who will provide this service must complete the CPPE online training and pass the e-assessment for Emergency Contraception by 31st March 2026.

  • The training and e-assessment must be completed within the last 3 years (between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2026).

  • Evidence of completion must be available for inspection from 31st March 2026 and retained for 3 years.

Resources:

When making a declaration for this criterion, the following must be reported on the MYS application:

  1. The number of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians providing the Pharmacy Contraception Service who have completed the CPPE online training and passed the e-assessment since 1st April 2023.

  2. The number pharmacists/pharmacy technicians who have not completed the training but will do so between the declaration and end of 31st March 2026.

  3. Confirmation that the pharmacy owner has evidence that all relevant staff have completed the training within the past 3 years (from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2026).

Domain 2 – Patient Safety

There are three quality criteria in Domain 2 – Patient safety. All of the quality criteria need to be met to be eligible to claim payment for the domain. The quality criteria are:

  1. Antimicrobial Stewardship – Pharmacy First consultations – Clinical Audit
  2. Sepsis – CPPE learning & e-assessment
  3. Regularising Enhanced DBS checks for registered pharmacy professionals

Further details on all of the quality criteria in Domain 2 – Patient safety can be found below.

 

1. Antimicrobial Stewardship – Clinical Audit

Requirement:
Pharmacy owners must complete a clinical audit focusing on patients with a FeverPAIN score of 0–3 using the Pharmacy First Sore Throat clinical pathway.

Audit Timeline:

  • Conduct between 1 September 2025 – 31 March 2026.

  • Minimum 10 patients over 4 weeks, or extend to 8 weeks if 10 patients are not reached.

  • Data collection must start by 3 February 2026 and audit must finish by 31 March 2026.

  • Submit anonymised data via the MYS data collection tool.

  • Integrate audit learnings into future practice.

Important Notes:

  • The start and end dates of the audit must be recorded and entered in MYS.

  • Submitting the audit data is mandatory; audits not submitted will be ineligible for payment.

  • MYS allows the audit to be started and completed later, but only submitted data qualifies.

  • A confirmation email will be sent after submission—this must be kept as evidence.

  • No patient identifiable data must be entered into MYS.

  • If no suitable patients are found, payment is still possible if the pharmacy:

    • Can demonstrate a robust attempt to identify patients, and

    • Declares this in MYS by 31 March 2026.

MYS Declaration Must Include:

  • Confirmation the audit was completed by 31 March 2026.

  • Audit start and end dates.

  • Confirmation that data was submitted or a “no suitable patients” declaration was made.

  • Confirmation that audit learnings were incorporated into future practice.

2. Sepsis – CPPE Learning & E-assessment

Requirement:
All registered pharmacy professionals working at the pharmacy on the day of declaration must have:

  • Completed CPPE’s sepsis online training, and

  • Passed the associated e-assessment, between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2026.

Evidence Requirements:

  • Proof must be available on-site from 31 March 2026.

  • Retain evidence for 3 years for post-payment verification (PPV).

MYS Declaration Must Include:

  • Number of professionals who have completed the training/assessment.

  • Number who have not yet completed it but will do so by 31 March 2026.

  • Confirmation that the pharmacy holds the necessary evidence.

3. Enhanced DBS Checks

Requirement:
All registered pharmacy professionals (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) working at the pharmacy on the day of declaration must have:

  • An enhanced DBS check with a certificate issued between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2026.

Purpose:
To align with DBS check requirements across other NHS healthcare professionals and ensure the safe provision of clinical services.

Evidence Requirements:

  • Certificates must be available on-site for inspection from 31 March 2026.

  • Retain documentation for 3 years for PPV.

MYS Declaration Must Include:

  • Number of staff who have a DBS certificate dated from 1 April 2023.

  • Number who do not yet have one but will obtain it by 31 March 2026.

  • Confirmation that evidence is available and in line with the requirement.

Declaration Requirements:

  • Report the number of pharmacy professionals who have completed an enhanced DBS check and received a certificate since 1st April 2023.

  • Report any pharmacy professionals who will complete the DBS check between the day of the declaration and 31st March 2026.

  • Ensure evidence is available for inspection at the pharmacy premises by 31st March 2026.

 

Funding for PQS 2025/26

Total Funding & Points Allocation

  • The Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) 2025/26 has a total funding pot of £30 million.

  • Payments are based on a points system, with pharmacies allocated to a band based on their 2024/25 prescription volume.

Band Annual Prescription Volume Medicines Optimisation Points Patient Safety Points Total Points
Band 1 0–1,800 items 1.5 1 2.5
Band 2 1,801+ items 30 20 50

  • Payments per point range from a minimum of £57.50 to a maximum of £115, depending on the total points earned across all pharmacies.

Example Scenario:
If 13 pharmacies in Band 1 (avg. 2 points each) and 8,347 in Band 2 (avg. 30 points) participate, a total of 250,436 points would be claimed.
This would set the point value at £119.79, but capped at £115 per point.
The remaining £1.2 million would be retained and factored into future Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) funding.

Band Allocation Rules

  • New pharmacies in 2024/25: If opened mid-year, prescription volume is averaged over full months open and multiplied by 12.

  • Pharmacies opened after 1 April 2025: Automatically placed in Band 2.

  • Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS) participants: Automatically placed in Band 2.

  • Consolidations under Regulation 26A: Only the continuing pharmacy’s item volume counts (not the closed pharmacy’s).

Aspiration Payment

Pharmacy owners can optionally claim an Aspiration payment, which is an advance based on expected performance.

Key Points:

  • Claimed via MYS between 9am, 1 May 2025 and 11:59pm, 16 May 2025.

  • Paid on 1 July 2025.

  • Maximum claim is 75% of total available points.

  • Value per point is £57.50 (minimum PQS point value).

  • Submissions must be completed and submitted in MYS—incomplete declarations are not eligible.

  • A confirmation email is sent after submission and should be kept as proof. If not received within 1 hour, email: pharmacysupport@nhsbsa.nhs.uk.

Example:

  • A Band 2 pharmacy intends to deliver 50 points.

  • 75% = 37.5 points × £57.50 = £2,156.25 Aspiration payment.

  • If 50 points are later achieved and point value is £80:

    • Reconciliation payment on 1 April 2026 = 50 × £80 – £2,156.25 = £1,843.75.

    • Total PQS Payment = £4,000.

Change of Ownership Rule:

  • If ownership changes during 2025/26, the original owner must submit a declaration between 2 Feb – 27 Feb 2026 or the Aspiration payment will be recovered.

  • A new owner cannot claim on work completed under a previous ODS code.

Final PQS Declaration

To claim PQS payment, pharmacy owners must:

  • Meet the gateway criterion by 31 August 2025.

  • Submit a full declaration via MYS between 9am, 2 February 2026 and 11:59pm, 27 February 2026.

  • Declare which domains were achieved, and must meet all criteria within a domain to be eligible for payment in that domain.

  • Late declarations will not be accepted, even with supporting evidence.

Verification & Compliance

  • NHS England and the NHSBSA Provider Assurance Team will validate submissions.

  • They will review submitted declarations against:

    • Existing NHS datasets

    • On-site evidence during inspection

  • Pharmacy owners must retain evidence for post-payment verification (PPV).

  • Contact pharmacysupport@nhsbsa.nhs.uk immediately if you face issues gathering evidence or submitting declarations.

Overpayments:
If a pharmacy is found to have incorrectly claimed PQS payments, NHS England may recover funds and apply sanctions under NHS regulations.

Resources and Useful Links

Associated Webpages:

Resources: