Thank you for your request for information about the following:

I am sending this request under the Freedom of Information Act to ask for the following information:

1 - a) How many repeat prescriptions for benzodiazepines (diazepam, alprazolam, chlordiazepoxide, hydrochloride, clobazam, lorazepam and oxazepam) were there in the years 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22? Please split the data up by year for all questions.

b) How many repeat dispenses were carried out for benzodiazepines in those years?

2 - a) How many repeat prescriptions for zopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon were there in those years?

b) How many repeat dispenses were carried out for zopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon in those years?

3 - a) How many repeat prescriptions for gabapentin and pregabalin were there in those years?

b) How many repeat dispenses were carried out for gabapentin and pregabalin in those years?

4 - a) How many repeat prescriptions for opioid painkillers (co-codamol, tramadol, morphine; oxycodone; methadone; fentanyl, buprenorphine; and diamorphine) were there in those years?

b) How many repeat dispenses were carried out for opioid painkillers in those years?

5 - a) How many repeat prescriptions for antidepressants (tricyclic and related antidepressants, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors) were provided in those years?

b) How many repeat dispenses were carried out for antidepressants in those years?

Your request was received on 18 May 2023 and has been dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

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

The data source was the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse.

Exclusions

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

201704 to 202203

Prescribing Organisations

No limits on prescribing

Dispensing Organisations

Limited to dispensing in England

Drug List

All requested drugs in points 1-4 have been limited using the BNF Chemical Substance. The full list is:

Q1: Selected drugs based on BNF Section 040102 and 40801 for Clobazam

'0401020A0' Alprazolam

'0401020E0' Chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride

'0401020K0' Diazepam

'0401020P0' Lorazepam

'0401020T0' Oxazepam

'040801060' Clobazam

Q2

'0401010Y0' Zolpidem tartrate

'0401010W0' Zaleplon

'0401010Z0' Zopiclone

Q3

'0408010G0' Gabapentin

'0407030AD' Gabapentin (Neuropathic Pain)

'0408010AE' Pregabalin

Q4: Selected drugs based on BNF Section 0407020 for Opioid analgesics and 0407010 for Non-opioid analgesics and compound preparations for Co-codamol

'0407020B0' Buprenorphine

'0407020K0' Diamorphine hydrochloride (Systemic)

'0407020A0' Fentanyl

'0407020M0' Methadone hydrochloride

'0407020W0' Morphine (Opium Tincture)

'0407020P0' Morphine hydrochloride

'0407020Q0' Morphine sulfate

'040702020' Morphine tartrate and cyclizine tartrate

'0407020Z0' Oxycodone

'0407020AD' Oxycodone hydrochloride

'0407020AF' Oxycodone hydrochloride/naloxone hydrochloride

'040702040' Tramadol hydrochloride

'0407010F0' Co-codamol (Codeine phosphate/paracetamol)

Q5: All selected drugs in point 5 have been limited using the BNF Paragraph (as opposed to Chemical Substance in the earlier questions).

The full list is:

'040301' Tricyclic and related antidepressant drugs

'040303' Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors

'040302' Monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (maois)

Repeat Prescribing and Repeat Dispensing

Repeat Dispensing is captured for both EPS and Paper prescriptions.

Repeat prescribing is captured for EPS messages, which is the data as received through EPS from Point of Care Systems. Therefore this field is reported as stated on the message but is not validated. Repeat prescribing is not captured for paper prescriptions.

Items

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

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data, please contact foidata@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement:

“NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse, NHSBSA Copyright 2023” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated.

Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.