FOI-03019

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

##Request

You asked us:

<i>Please can I request a breakdown of the last 12 months of co-proxamol prescribing for unique patients in England by 10 year age bands please?

I would like the number of unique patients.

I dont mind how last 12 months is specified - it can be latest available data, the last financial year e.g. 24 25 or the last full calendar year - whatever is easiest. 

If easier to provide slightly different age bands e.g. 5 year or 18 30, 31 44 etc that will satisfy my request

If you have a current version of this previously released report it will satisfy my enquiry</i>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 17 July 2025. 

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.

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. 

<b>Data Source</b><br>
Data in ePACT2 is sourced from the NHSBSA Information Services 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. 

<b>Exclusions</b><br>
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. 
 
<b>This dataset</b><br> 
The data indicates the number of unique patients prescribed Co-Proxamol as a chemical substance (BNF Code 0407010Q0), over the latest 12 month period for which data is available. The data is split by 10 year age bands, indicating the patient’s age at the time of prescribing.  
 
Please note that no patients under the age of 30 were identified as receiving a prescription during the time period specified. 
 
<b>Time Period</b><br> 
Aggregated data – June 2024-May 2025. (The most recent 12 months of data available) 
 
<b>Organisation Data</b><br>
The data includes prescriptions prescribed in England and dispensed anywhere in the UK. 
 
<b>Patient Identification</b><br>
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 (age) was only available for 99.3% of prescription items.  
 
The patient count figures are based on a distinct count of NHS number as captured from the prescription image.  
 
Patient ages are based on the age as captured from the prescription image and relates to the patient's age at the time of prescribing. 

##Data Queries

Please contact <a href="mailto: foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk">foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk </a> 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 <a href="mailto: communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk">communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. 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: “ePACT2, 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.

Tags: NHS Prescription Services
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log