FOI-03492

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

##Request

You asked us:

<i>Information request for FP34PCD prescribing data.
 
1. Please can you provide prescribing data for the number of private prescription items under section 0404 CNS stimulants and drugs used for ADHD for every month from May 2025 to the latest available date. I am looking for the number of items in England and dispensed in the UK

2. Can you also provide the number of new patients issued private prescriptions for 0404 CNS stimulants and drugs used for ADHD for each month from Jan 2015 to the latest available month.</i>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 31 December 2025. 

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. 

##Our response

<b>Question 1 – Please can you provide prescribing data for the number of private prescription items under section 0404 CNS stimulants and drugs used for ADHD for every month from May 2025 to the latest available date. I am looking for the number of items in England and dispensed in the UK</b>

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.

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>

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>

The Data excludes: <br>
<span style="display: block; padding-left: 1em;">•	Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification. </span>

<span style="display: block; padding-left: 1em;">•	Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in Prisons, Hospitals and Private prescriptions. </span>

<span style="display: block; padding-left: 1em;">•	Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.</span>
 
<b>This dataset</b>

This dataset shows number of items per presentation for private prescriptions of CNS stimulants and drugs used for ADHD. The chemical substance and code have been included for information.
Please note that for private prescribing we only hold data on controlled drugs.

<b>Time Period</b>

Monthly data – May 2025 – October 2025 (latest month available).
 
<b>Organisation Data</b>

Data for private unlicensed prescriptions is limited to prescriptions prescribed in England and dispensed in the community. Prescribing ICB (Integrated Care Board) is also indicated.
 
<b>BNF Code</b>

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. Many of such items are dressings and appliances which NHS Prescription Services has classified into four pseudo BNF chapters (20 to 23).
 
<b>Items</b>

Items show the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed.

<b>Question 2 – Can you also provide the number of new patients issued private prescriptions for 0404 CNS stimulants and drugs used for ADHD for each month from Jan 2015 to the latest available month.</b>

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA. 

Although we hold a very limited sub-section of patient NHS numbers for the private prescribing concerned, we would not be able to reliably verify or confirm if new patients have been prescribed medication.

##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 2026”. 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 Presciption Services
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log