Request

1. The monthly total number of items of antibacterial agents in the BNF section (0501) prescribed and dispensed in England by NHS general dental practitioners for the period of 1st June 2018 and 31st May 2022 expressed as individual drug names, chemical names and number of items per month.

2. The monthly total number of items of analgesics (paracetamol, aspirin, dihydrocodeine, diclofenac sodium and ibuprofen) prescribed by NHS general dental practitioners for the period of 1st June 2018 and 31st May 2022 expressed as individual drug names (as specified above), chemical names and number of items per month.’

On 17 June 2022 you clarified your request as follows:

As mentioned in the request form, we received similar data but for different periods previously (FIO 19137 and FIO 10334) and the data was supplied in the below categories. We really wish to have similar data to be able to compare. Kindly confirm that the below information will enable you to extract the required data.

Analgesics:

BNF Chemical Substance Code BNF Chemical Substance 0407010B0 Aspirin 1001010C0 Diclofenac sodium 0407020G0 Dihydrocodeine tartrate 1001010J0 Ibuprofen 0407010H0 Paracetamol

Antibiotics:

BNF Chemical Substance Code BNF Chemical Substance 0501013B0 Amoxicillin 0501050A0 Azithromycin 0501021L0 Cefalexin 0501021M0 Cefradine 0501050B0 Clarithromycin 0501060D0 Clindamycin hydrochloride 0501013K0 Co-amoxiclav (Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid) 0501030I0 Doxycycline hyclate 0501050C0 Erythromycin 0501050H0 Erythromycin ethylsuccinate 0501050N0 Erythromycin stearate 0501110C0 Metronidazole 0501030T0 Oxytetracycline 0501011P0 Phenoxymethylpenicillin (Penicillin V) 0501030V0 Tetracycline

Response

May 2022 Prescriptions

Please note that processing of these prescriptions had not been completed at the time the request was received. Please submit a further a request for these prescriptions. The latest data provided is up to April 2022.

Remaining Information

A copy of the information 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 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.

This dataset is shown in two parts:

Part 1 shows data at BNF chemical substance level and shows all chemical substances in BNF Section 0501 Antibacterial drugs.

Part2 shows data at BNF chemical substance level for the following BNF chemical substances:

0407010B0 – Aspirin, 0407010H0 – Paracetamol, 0407020G0 - Dihydrocodeine tartrate, 1001010C0 - Diclofenac sodium, 1001010J0 – Ibuprofen.

Organisation Data

The data is at national level and is for all English dental prescribing that has been dispensed in the community in England.

Items

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

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.

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact nhsbsa.communicationsteam@nhs.net. 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 2022” 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.