By Frances Garraghan, Programme Lead, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC)
To safeguard patient care and healthcare systems for the future, we must prioritize responsible prescribing, infection prevention, and a global commitment to tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
As the NHS transforms care delivery through the 10-Year Plan, it aims to move from a hospital-centric model to a “neighbourhood health service, designed around you” and providing continuous, accessible and coordinated care. The UK Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) National Action Plan 2024–2029 (UK AMR NAP) sets out the UK’s leadership role both nationally and globally in mitigating one of the greatest threats to global health, and pharmacists are central to embedding antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) within this vision, supporting sustainable and patient centred care across all settings.
The NHS’s new model of care focusses on integration and prevention, bringing professionals together into multidisciplinary, patient-centred teams within local communities. This “neighbourhood” approach offers a clear opportunity for pharmacists to lead on AMS across care pathways, bridging the traditional silos between hospital, community and primary care.
Pharmacists are already at the forefront of optimising antimicrobial use, preventing infections, and promoting behaviour change among prescribers and patients. In Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) and virtual ward services, pharmacists ensure safe antimicrobial selection and monitoring, facilitate early discharge, and lead IV-to-oral switch (IVOS) interventions. These actions improve patient outcomes, reduce system pressures and advance the Greener NHS agenda by lowering medicine waste and carbon emissions.
The role of the RPS
As these innovative models of care evolve, professional standards and guidance are essential to ensure safe, effective and stewardship focussed pharmacy practice, and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) plays a pivotal role in this space. Its interim professional standards for virtual wards provide a framework for safe and effective pharmacy practice in “hospital at home” settings, ensuring AMS and governance are embedded in new models of care.
Likewise, the RPS Greener Pharmacy Guides and Toolkit help pharmacists integrate sustainability principles into daily practice, demonstrating how AMS, medicines optimisation and environmental responsibility align within a modern, integrated NHS.
Beyond national borders, the UK AMR NAP reinforces the UK’s role as “a good global partner”, strengthening pharmacy-led stewardship capacity, and sharing expertise worldwide. Many RPS members already contribute to this global agenda through partnerships, education and collaborative projects that build AMS leadership across international health systems.
Pharmacists are key to delivering the NHS vision of a continuous, accessible and integrated neighbourhood health service. By embedding AMS into everyday practice, championing greener, more sustainable care and supporting global collaboration, pharmacists are shaping a healthcare system that protects both patients and the planet. The RPS continues to empower pharmacists to lead locally, influence nationally and contribute globally, ensuring that AMS remains central to a future NHS that is truly coordinated, sustainable and designed around people.