Prescriptions by General Medical Practitioners, 2011-12

Statistics on GP prescribing include data for the financial year 2011-12.  The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 31 August 2011.

The key points from the latest release are:

• Between 2001-02 and 2011-12 the number of prescription items dispensed in Wales increased by 57.9% from 46.0 to 72.7 million.
• Over the decade the net ingredient cost (NIC) of prescription items prescribed by GPs in Wales increased by 28.9 % to £587.2 million.

Compared to the rest of the UK):

• Wales dispensed the highest number of prescription items per head of population – 24.0 compared to 20.2 in Northern Ireland, 18.4 in England and 18.3 in Scotland.
• Wales had the second highest net ingredient cost per head of population - £195.53 compared to £238.05 in Northern Ireland, £194.58 in Scotland and £168.57 in England.
• Wales had the lowest net ingredient cost per prescription item - £8.14 compared to £9.16 in England, £10.65 in Scotland and £11.76 in Northern Ireland.

This output shows statistics over a ten year period.

Further information

StatsWales website.

Contact

Tel: 029 2082 5039
E-mail: stats.healthinfo@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Next update

August 2013 (provisional - to be confirmed on 'Due out Soon' page)