Thank you for your request for information about the following:

Request

‘I am writing to make a request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Could you please supply me with the following information concerning prescription of semaglutide across the UK.

How many NHS patients were prescribed semaglutide in the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?

How many NHS patients were prescribed Wegovy in the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?

How many NHS patients were prescribed semaglutide due to health problems with their weight in the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?

How many NHS patients were prescribed Wegovy due to health problems with their weight in the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?

How many NHS patients were prescribed semaglutide for treatment of PCOS symptoms in the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?

How many NHS patients were prescribed Wegovy for treatment of PCOS symptoms in the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?

How many NHS patients were prescribed semaglutide for treatment of any other health condition in the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?

How many NHS patients were prescribed Wegovy for treatment of any other health condition in the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?’

[On 23 July 2024 we sent you the following clarification request]

We do not hold the reasons why a prescription was provided or the medical condition a prescription was provided for. We can provide the number of English NHS patients prescribed Semaglutide and Wegovy. Can you please confirm if you would like us to proceed on this basis?

If you would like us to proceed, please also clarify the below.

Wegovy falls under Semaglutide in the BNF hierarchy. The BNF hierarchy is chemical substance (Semaglutide), then product (for example generic Semaglutide and brands Wegovy/Ozempic), and then BNF presentations (for example tablets and injections).

Can you please confirm if you would like the number of patients prescribed Semaglutide (which will include patients prescribed Wegovy) and then separately the number of patients prescribed Wegovy?

Or to prevent the patients prescribed Wegovy in both data counts, would you like the number of patients supplied Semaglutide broken down by BNF product or BNF presentation?

[On 24 July 2024 you clarified your request as follows]

‘I am happy for you to proceed on confirming number of English NHS patients prescribed Semaglutide and Wegovy.

I would like the number of patients prescribed Semaglutide (which will include patients prescribed Wegovy) and then separately the number of patients prescribed Wegovy, if possible.

If possible, I would also like the number of patients supplied Semaglutide broken down by BNF product or BNF presentation.’

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 18 July 2024, with clarification received on 24 July 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 is attached.

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

NHSBSA

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.

Dataset

This dataset is limited to the BNF Chemical Substance of Semaglutide and BNF product Wegovy. This is subsequently broken down further with a unique patient count for each BNF product and BNF presentation listed within the BNF chemical substance of Semaglutide.

Time Period

Data is presented for prescribing between 2020 and 2023, aggregated by calendar year.

Organisation Data

The data is for prescribing in England regardless of where dispensed in the community.

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 was captured for 98.91% of prescription items.

The patient count figures are based on a distinct count of NHS number as captured from the prescription image.

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, drug groupings and/or time periods.

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.