Request

Can I request the information previously supplied under FOI Request FOI-01897 but for the period April 2025 to the most recent month where this data is available?

On the 8 September 2025 you clarified the following:

What we are looking for in essence is a variation of the Prescription Cost analysis (PCA) Monthly Administrative Data.

Detailing the dispenser code(s) and prescriber code(s) with the following restrictions.

1) only for BNF code starting 2128

2) only for the first prescription issued to a patient who have never received a prescription for any of these items in the previous 2 years.

3) As we feel that the chances of a patient having both a paper and EPS in the same month is remote, the level of detail we require is the month of dispensing.

We would be looking for all available months from May 2025 onwards.

Could we also request the same data without the restrictions 2/3 above.

Response

I can confirm that the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) holds the information you have requested, and a copy of the information is attached.

Please read the notes to ensure your 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 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.

Files associated with this request:

FOI03035_pt1.csv - contains data for "new" patients, who have their first prescribing for this BNF section for at least 2 years, split by month

FOI03035_pt2.csv - contains data for all patients prescribed in the time period.

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.

•       Items supplied as part of a Pharmacy First consultation or service.

Time Period

Prescriptions processed in May and June 2025 (latest available).

For Part 1, prescriptions from 202306 to 202506 were considered to look for patients who had their first prescription in at least 2 years

Data in part 1 is limited to prescriptions where an NHS Number was captured during NHSBSA prescription processing.

97.66% of all items for this request from June 2023 to June 2025 had an NHS number associated with them.

Data in part 2 includes all prescriptions, regardless of the NHS number being captured.

Drugs

Limited to the following BNF sections;

2128 - Anal Irrigation System

Organisation Data

Only items that were dispensed in the community in England have been included.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

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 Information Services Data Warehouse, NHSBSA Copyright 2025”. 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.