Prescriptions dispensed in the community: 2017

Main points

• The number of prescription items dispensed in the community increased from 80.3 million in 2016 to 80.4 million in 2017 (up by 0.2%), equivalent to 25.8 items per head.
• The net ingredient cost of all prescriptions dispensed in the community in 2017 was £578.1 million, very similar to the cost in 2016.
• Wales dispensed the highest number of prescription items per head of population - 25.8 compared to 22.3 in Northern Ireland, 20.0 in England and 19.2 in Scotland.
• Medicines for the treatment of the cardiovascular system make up the largest group in terms of prescription items (23.4 million), but drugs for the treatment of the central nervous system make up the largest group in terms of cost (£123.6 million).
• Across all British National Formulary (BNF) chapters, Omeprazole was the most commonly prescribed chemical with 2.6 million items dispensed in 2017.

Note

In addition to these annual statistics, monthly data are published by NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership.