Thank you for your request for information about the following:

Request

‘I hope this email finds you well. I am conducting research on antibiotic prescribing at the ICB level. I have been advised by colleagues at NHSE to contact you to see if I can access ePACT2 data for this research, or whether you would be able to share with me a data extract?

The data I would require is from the children prescribing dashboard:

• For each ICB, the prescription items per 1000 children in GP list size (broken down by age categories e.g. 0-4yrs, 4-14 yrs, 14-18 yrs or whichever categories are used on the dashboard)

• Data from September 2021 to September 2023. If monthly data is possible over this period, that would be great but the key information for me is the 12-month rolling data at three timepoints (September 2021, September 2022, September 2023)’

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

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

Our 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.

Data Source

NHSBSA Data Warehouse

Time Period

Shows prescribing from September 2021 to September 2023

Prescribing Limitations

Limited to prescribed within an ICB

Dispensing limitations

No limits on dispensing

Patient Age

Patient age is determined by the age captured from each prescription form during processing.

Only under 18s have been provided. Under 18 is all ages 0 to 17 inclusive.

Data Presentation

Individual month data and no aggregation has been given

Drug Data

Drugs limited to Liquids, Oral Solutions and Oral Suspensions of the following chemical substances:

Azathioprine (0802010G0)

Calcium Carbonate (0101021C0)

Chloral hydrate (0401010B0)

Clopidogrel (0209000C0)

Ethambutol hydrochloride (0501090H0)

Hydrocortisone (Use of corticosteroids) (0603020J0)

Isoniazid (0501090K0)

Lisinopril (0205051L0)

Phenobarbital (0408010N0)

Phenobarbital sodium(0408010P0)

Pyrazinamide (0501090N0)

Sertraline hydrochloride (0403030Q0)

Sodium chloride Oral sodium and water (0902012L0)

Spironolactone (0202030S0)

Tacrolimus (Corticosteroids and other immunosuppressants) (0802020T0)

Items

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

List Size

The number of patients registered with a practice (including temporary residents and over 65s). Data is limited to patients with an age between 0 and 17 inclusive.

Exclusions

Data is based on prescription items that were processed by the NHSBSA, not including items not dispensed, disallowed and returned back.

Excluding items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHSBSA Prescription Services by the dispenser.

Data Queries

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.

Reusing the data and copyright

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 Copyright 2024” 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.