Request

You asked us:

In 2023, the number of prescriptions of the five most common SSRIs (Fluocetine, citalopram, escitalopram, paroxetine, sertraline) prescribed in England to the following age groups: 18-27, 28-43, 44-59, 59+.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 24 April 2024.

On 8 May 2024, you clarified your request as follows:

I am looking for the specific number of prescription forms issued containing these substances.
I would like the final age band to be 60+.

Response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information and notes explaining it is attached.

Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

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 one 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:
January - December 2023 (calendar year)

Data:
The data is limited to prescriptions prescribed in England and dispensed in anywhere in the UK, for British National Formulary (BNF) Chemical Substances requested - Citalopram hydrobromide (0403030D0), Citalopram hydrochloride (0403030D0), Fluoxetine hydrochloride (0403030E0), Paroxetine hydrochloride (0403030P0), Sertraline hydrochloride (0403030Q0) and Escitalopram (0403030X0)

Age Band: 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.  Results have been restricted to only show results presented by age band (18-27, 28-43, 44-59 and 60 plus).  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 calendar year. 

Number of Prescription Forms The number of prescriptions in which the chemical substance has been prescribed. Please note, if a patient has been prescribed more than one of the chemical substances included within this data, the prescription will be included within the data for both (or all) of those substances.