How GP Practices Can Improve Antibiotic Stewardship

• 24th May 2025

Antibiotic resistance is a rising concern across the NHS, and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are expected to use antibiotics more safely and consistently. This article outlines how antibiotic stewardship applies in general practice, why the stewardship of antibiotics in the uk is now a clinical and operational priority, and how GP teams supported by clinical pharmacists can help reduce inappropriate prescribing. We also highlight practical strategies and how Core Prescribing Solutions supports primary care teams in delivering safe, sustainable prescribing.

1. What Is Antibiotic Stewardship?
2. Why Antibiotic Stewardship Matters in the NHS
3. Antimicrobial Stewardship in Primary Care
4. Key Strategies for Managing Antibiotic Use in GP Practices

Key Takeaways:

• Antibiotic stewardship helps reduce resistance by supporting safe, appropriate prescribing in GP practices.
• Clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians lead on audits, reviews, and prescribing guidance.
• PCNs and practices are expected to lead in managing antibiotic use in line with NHS antimicrobial goals.

What Is Antibiotic Stewardship?

Antibiotic stewardship, and understanding what is antibiotic stewardship in practice, is the coordinated effort to improve how antibiotics are prescribed and used to reduce resistance, protect patient safety, and preserve the effectiveness of treatments. In practice, it means ensuring patients only receive antibiotics when they’re truly needed, using the right drug, dose, and duration, while monitoring outcomes and reducing unnecessary exposure.

Why Antibiotic Stewardship Matters in the NHS

The rise of antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious threats to patient safety in the UK, which is why antibiotic resistance stewardship is becoming a central focus of national prescribing policy. The antibiotic resistance NHS challenge means once-reliable treatments are becoming less effective, leading to avoidable complications, hospital admissions, and deaths. This has placed antibiotic resistance stewardship, alongside antimicrobial stewardship, at the heart of NHS prescribing policy.

Key NHS priorities include:

• Reducing inappropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in primary care
• Educating both clinicians and patients on when antibiotics are appropriate
• Embedding local stewardship plans through ICBs and PCNs
• Delivering against the NHS antimicrobial resistance strategy through audits, prescribing controls, and outcome tracking
• Supporting clinical teams with tools, guidance, and pharmacy input to change long-term prescribing habits

Antimicrobial Stewardship in Primary Care

Most antibiotic prescribing happens in general practice, where time pressure, patient expectations, and diagnostic uncertainty often lead to overprescribing. Effective antibiotic stewardship and antimicrobial stewardship in primary care requires changing prescribing habits, using evidence-based guidance, and involving the whole clinical team, especially pharmacists.

In a PCN or GP setting, antibiotic prescribing in primary care is improved through:

• Targeted reviews of high-risk or high-volume prescribing
• Use of local antimicrobial formularies and prescribing guidelines
• Clinician training and patient communication on appropriate use
• Support from pharmacists to review, challenge, and optimise prescribing
• Embedding data-led PCN antibiotic stewardship plans tied to audit and QOF indicators
• Multidisciplinary working to address recurring prescribing risks across practices

Related read: Antimicrobial stewardship explained

Key Strategies for Managing Antibiotic Use in GP Practices

Effective management of antibiotic use in GP practices involves consistent review, education, and structured oversight, much of which can be led by clinical pharmacists working within PCNs or practices.

Core strategies include:

• Running regular antibiotic audit primary care cycles to identify high-volume or inappropriate prescribing
• Embedding local antimicrobial formularies into EMIS or SystmOne for real-time support
• Delivering Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs) that include infection-related prescribing
• Reviewing repeat prescriptions to identify long-term or inappropriate antibiotic use
• Providing training and prescribing guidance updates to GPs and nurses
• Leading patient education campaigns on when antibiotics are and aren’t effective
• Expanding the clinical pharmacist’s antibiotic role to include prescribing challenge, audit delivery, and QOF alignment

“Antibiotic stewardship isn’t just a clinical priority it’s a practical, everyday discipline that every GP practice can embed through audit, team education, and direct pharmacist support. These steps protect patient safety now and preserve antibiotic effectiveness for the future.“

Adeem Azhar: Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Core Prescribing Solutions

How Core Prescribing Solutions Supports Antibiotic Stewardship in Primary Care

At Core Prescribing Solutions, our team supports antimicrobial stewardship in primary care by embedding experienced clinical pharmacists directly into PCNs and general practices. These pharmacists lead and deliver structured interventions that reduce inappropriate prescribing and improve patient outcomes.

Our support includes:

• Expanding the clinical pharmacist’s antibiotic role to lead audit cycles, prescribing reviews, and local improvement plans
• Conducting antibiotic-focused SMRs and medication safety checks
• Supporting practices with education, data interpretation, and guideline alignment
• Leading QOF-aligned initiatives, including infection-related prescribing indicators
• Delivering ongoing PCN antibiotic stewardship projects through structured plans and regular reporting
• Reducing GP workload by managing targeted prescribing activity across multiple sites

Frequently Asked Questions