CompletedPublic Health & HealthcareNIHR-supported projectDigestion, Kidneys & Other Organs
Phased In:PHarmacy partnership using decision-making tools and near patient testing for Antimicrobial Stewardship for EveryDay practice IN primary care. Phased In
Recipient organisationNIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre
NIHR supportRecorded as supported by this research centre
PeriodFeb 2025 — Aug 2025
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
Every year, one in three people in the UK visit a GP or pharmacist for a common infection—yet most of those infections do not require antibiotics. This project tests whether community pharmacies, equipped with decision-making tools and rapid diagnostic tests, can safely manage these infections instead of general practices. The problem is clear: overprescribing antibiotics fuels resistance, threatening routine surgeries and cancer treatments. Current pharmacy ‘minor illness’ schemes show promise but lack high-quality evidence. This feasibility study will train ten general practices to refer patients to linked pharmacies, while ten continue usual care. Pharmacies will use evidence-based tools to identify who needs antibiotics and who does not, plus point-of-care tests like C-reactive protein and self-care leaflets. If the service works, it could shift a significant burden of infection management from GP surgeries to pharmacies—freeing up appointments, reducing unnecessary antibiotic use, and slowing resistance. The study deliberately includes diverse settings—urban and rural, high and low income, high ethnic minority populations—to ensure the model works across the UK. Success would pave the way for a larger trial, potentially reshaping how common infections are handled in primary care.
View original technical description
One in three people see doctors, nurses or pharmacists each year with common infections, such as colds, flu, chest, ear, sinus and urine infections. Currently most antibiotics are prescribed in general practice but antibiotics mostly don’t help. Overuse of antibiotics harms people and causes antibiotic resistance to develop, This could make modern medicine, such as routine surgery and cancer treatments, difficult or impossible. Early evidence from community pharmacy ‘minor illness’ schemes, suggests this is probably both safe and may lower antibiotic use. However, these services are not widely available. There is no high-quality scientific evidence for this type of infection service. Aim. To assess the feasibility of a infection service using decision-making tools to help community pharmacies share the management of common acute infections in primary care. Developing tools to support antibiotic stewardship We have developed evidence based ‘decision-making tools’ to standardise care and help identify people who do not need antibiotics, and those who might need them. The intervention will include these decision-making tools, as well as diagnostic tests that can be carried out on the spot if needed (such as C-reactive protein) and patient leaflets to support self-care. Testing the feasibility of using the package 10 general practices will continue with management as usual, and 10 will be trained to refer patients presenting with common infections to linked community pharmacies who will use the intervention. We will include practices in a wide range of settings (including high and low income areas, urban and rural, and practices with high ethnic minority populations) and will look at how well the service works, what the implications are for providing the service, and patient and healthcare professional views with a view to any revisions needed prior to a fuller trial of the new service
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