Request

‘Hello, I have checked your published information and also looked through your previously published FOI's and I can't find the information I require to be readily available. Therefore, please may I submit a new request for information which may be derived from these two reports: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/access-our-data-products/epact2/report-information/controlled-drugs-monitoring-reports
I only need information for BNF Codes beginning 060402. I would ideally like as much information as possible but understand if it needs to be redacted. If prescriber and place is not available, ICB or Sub-ICB would be great and please could the data be monthly going back to January 2018 or as far back as you can reasonably manage. Many thanks’

Response

A copy of the information is attached.

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

In your request, you pointed to the Controlled Drug (CD) requisitions and private CD reports as containing the information you were interested in, but you are asking for the data to be only for those drugs in BNF060402. As none of the drugs in that part of the BNF are Schedule 2 or 3 CDs then dispensing contractors are not bound by the legislation for submitting CD requisitions and private controlled drug forms to the NHSBSA (see below). However, if the information is submitted to us voluntarily by a pharmacy contractors we will hold it but please be aware that this will be an incomplete dataset. Also please be aware CD Requisition data is not actual prescribing data but is about one organisation obtaining stock from another organisation because they cannot obtain stock from their normal wholesaler.

Legislation relating to the submission of requisitions and private controlled drug forms to the NHSBSA only applies to Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 controlled drugs. (Reference Drug Tariff PartXX)

“For England Private Prescriptions for Controlled Drugs From 1 July 2006 all private prescriptions issued for controlled drugs in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 must be ordered using the prescription form designed especially for this purpose (FP10PCD). Following dispensing, the original FP10PCD prescription forms must be submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) for audit purposes”.

Requisitions for Controlled Drugs From 30 November 2015 the supply of controlled drugs in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (as amended) must be requisitioned using the new FP10CDF form. This can be accessed from the NHS Business Services Authority website: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/PrescriptionServices/1120.aspx

The requirement to use the mandatory form applies to the professionals listed at regulation 14(4), which now includes paramedics and the person in charge or acting person in charge of an organisation providing ambulance services, and only when stocks of the relevant controlled drugs are to be obtained in the community, including from wholesalers but outside settings such as hospitals.

From 1 June 2015, hospices and prisons are exempt from the requirement to use the mandatory form when requisitioning supplies of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs. They can continue to use the old version of the FP10CDF form while stocks last. Once the supply has been issued, the requisition form must be marked in accordance with the regulations before being submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for audit purposes. Hospitals and wholesalers are exempt from this requirement.

Submission of Forms

One FP34PCD submission document must be completed and submitted with each monthly submission of original FP10PCD prescription forms/FP10CDF requisition forms. The submission document is available at http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk along with guidance on how to complete the document.

More information on Safer Management of Controlled Drugs can be found here

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pharmacies-gp-practices-and-appliance-contractors/prescribing-and-dispensing/safer-management

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.

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.

This request is only for drugs in BNF paragraph 060402 Male sex hormones and antagonists. None of the drugs in this part of the BNF are Schedule 2 or 3 and as such it is not a legal requirement for this information to be submitted to the NHSBSA for monitoring purposes and therefore the data provided here cannot be considered a complete dataset.

The data is provided in two parts. Part 1 shows private prescribing data and part 2 shows CD Requisition data.

Part 1 Private data

The BNF Code is a 15 digit code in which the first seven digits are allocated according to the categories in the BNF and the last 8 digits represent the medicinal product, form, strength and the link to the generic equivalent product. NHS Prescription Services has created pseudo BNF chapters, which are not published, for items not included in BNF chapters 1 to 15. The majority of such items are dressings and appliances which NHS Prescription Services has classified into four pseudo BNF chapters (20 to 23).

Items

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

Quantity

Normally shows the quantity of a product prescribed. However, where a product is packed in a 'special container' (see Drug Tariff Part II Clause 10) the pharmacist is not required to split the pack and may supply the number of containers or original packs which provide the quantity nearest to that prescribed. In some circumstances these items show quantity as the number of units supplied i.e. 1 or 2 even though a pack may contain 56 tablets.

Part 2 Requisitions data

Requisitioner is a person / organisation raising the requisition to obtain controlled drugs from another organisation e.g. a pharmacy or practice. Requisitioners may voluntarily use a requisition form for drugs that are not schedule 2 or 3 controlled drugs and in this case there is no requirement to submit this information but if they do submit it then the NHSBSA will hold it.

Items

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

Quantity

Normally shows the quantity of a product prescribed. However, where a product is packed in a 'special container' (see Drug Tariff Part II Clause 10) the pharmacist is not required to split the pack and may supply the number of containers or original packs which provide the quantity nearest to that prescribed. In some circumstances these items show quantity as the number of units supplied i.e. 1 or 2 even though a pack may contain 56 tablets.

Please note that this request and our response is published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-32017