Request

1. The number of NHS England prescriptions for BNF section code: 3.1 by patient age for 2022 only using the ages 0 through to 16 inclusive.

2. The number of NHS England prescriptions for BNF section code: 3.2 by patient age for 2022 only using the ages 0 through to 16 inclusive.

3. Please provide me with a list which contains (a) the number of patients aged 0-16 inclusive in each ICS who were given a prescription for BNF section 3.1 in 2021, (b) the number of patients aged 0-16 inclusive in each ICS who were given a prescription for BNF section 3.2 in 2021, and (c) the number of patients in each ICS who are aged 0-16 inclusive in 2021.

Note: In relation to the data in Question 3 could it be provided in a way that I can still look to break down the data by the old, smaller, CCG areas.

On 13 April you clarified the following:

For Q1 & Q2 - We can provide the number of items prescribed in England regardless of where they were dispensed for BNF section 3.1 and 3.2 for each individual age from 0-16, or accumulated, for the calendar year of 2022. Can you confirm if this is what you require please?

Yes this will be fine. Thanks.

For 3a & 3b – We can provide number of identified patients who have had a prescription for BNF section 3.1 & 3.2 in each ICB (Integrated Care Board). Can you confirm you want the ages 0-16 accumulated or separate and it is calendar year 2021 that you require?

Apologies this should be calendar year 2022 not 2021 and in these questions happy for the years to be accumulated rather than separate as in Q.1 and Q.2.

For 3c – Again can you confirm if you want the ages accumulated or separate and that it is calendar year 2021?

Again happy for them to be accumulated rather than separate.

We can provide it at SICBL level (previously CCGs) and attach the ICB. Is it just SICBLs or is it all commissioner/providers?

Happy to have it at the SICBL (previous CCG) level.

Response

A copy of the information is attached.

NHS Prescription Services process prescriptions for Pharmacy Contractors, Appliance Contractors, Dispensing Doctors and Personal Administration with information then used to make payments to pharmacists and appliance contractors in England for prescriptions dispensed in primary care settings (other arrangements are in place for making payments to Dispensing Doctors and Personal Administration). This involves processing over 1 billion prescription items and payments totalling over £9 billion each year. The information gathered from this process is then used to provide information on costs and trends in prescribing in England and Wales to over 25,000 registered NHS and Department of Health and Social Care users.

Data source: ePACT2.

Data in ePACT2 is sourced from the NHSBSA Data Warehouse and is derived from products prescribed on prescriptions and dispensed in the Community. The data captured from prescription processing is used to calculate reimbursement and remuneration. It includes items prescribed in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey and Isle of Man which have been dispensed in the community in England. English prescribing that has been dispensed in Wales, Scotland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey and Isle of Man is also included.

The Data excludes: • Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification. • Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in Prisons, Hospitals and Private prescriptions. • Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser. Time period for this dataset is calendar year 2022 (January 2022 to December 2022 accumulated).

The data is shown in 4 parts:

Part 1

The number of items prescribed in England for patients aged 0 to 16 (ages separated) for BNF section 0301 Bronchodilators and BNF section 0302 Corticosteroids (respiratory).

Items shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed.

Part 2

The number of unique identified patients aged 0 to 16 (ages accumulated) in each Integrated Care Board (ICB) who have had a prescription for products in BNF Section 0301 Bronchodilators and BNF Section 0302 Corticosteroids (respiratory).

Part 3

The number of unique identified patients aged 0 to 16 (ages accumulated) in each Commissioner / Provider who have had a prescription for products in BNF Section 0301 Bronchodilators and BNF Section 0302 Corticosteroids (respiratory). A date with the letter 'C' in brackets - example (C 01-FEB-18) against an organisation indicates that this organisation is closed as of the date stated.

Part 4

Number of patients aged 0 to 16 on the patient list size at each Commissioner / Provider.

Patient Identification

Where patient identifiable figures have been reported they are based on the information captured during the prescription processing activities. Please note, patient details cannot be captured from every prescription form and based on the criteria used for this analysis, patient information (age and nhs number) was available for 99.72% of prescription items. The patient count figures are based on a distinct count of NHS number as captured from the prescription image.

Patient ages are based on the age as captured from the prescription image and relates to the patient's age at the time of prescribing/dispensing. Please note it is possible that a single patient may be included in the results for more than one age band where a patient has received prescribing at different ages during the time period.

The figures for the number of identifiable patients should not be combined and reported at any other level than provided as this may result in the double-counting of patients. For example, a single patient could appear in the results for multiple age bands, ICBs and Commissioner / Providers.

Unidentified

Unidentified Doctors / Trust relates to prescription forms which contained a prescriber code that could not be allocated to an individual prescriber or their Commissioner / Provider Organisation. For example the prescriber code was invalid or illegible.

Please note that this request and our response is published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01057