The Health and Social Care’s Business Services Organisation (BSO) has today published its General Pharmaceutical Services for Northern Ireland, Annual Statistics 2023/24.
This Accredited Official Statistics report contains information on prescription dispensing and payments in relation to community dispensing (i.e. dispensing by community pharmacies, dispensing doctors and appliance suppliers).
Information is provided at Northern Ireland level with further breakdowns at Local Government District (LGD) and Local Commissioning Group (LCG) level.
The publication is available on the BSO’s website at:
Key Points
- At the end of 2023/24, Northern Ireland had 511 community pharmacies, fourteen fewer than last year.
- People in Northern Ireland live, on average, less than one mile from a community pharmacy. However, there is a distinct variation in urban and rural settings, with Belfast Local Government District residents living, on average, 0.3 miles from their nearest pharmacy, compared with 1.6 miles for those living in Fermanagh and Omagh. Over 99% of the population live within five miles of their nearest pharmacy.
- Community pharmacies were responsible for dispensing over 99% of prescription items in 2023/24, with the remainder dispensed by appliance contractors and dispensing doctors.
- On average, each community pharmacy dispensed over 87,000 items in 2023/24, an increase of over 3% on the previous year.
- The total number of items dispensed by all contractors also increased by almost 2% to 45.4 million in 2023/24, compared with the previous year and is the highest level of dispensing recorded. This equated to BSO processing 2.1 million prescription forms per month, on average, throughout the year, again a 2% increase on last year.
- The total ingredient cost over the year was £501.3 million. This was an increase of 3% on the previous year. The annual ingredient cost total fluctuated between 2013/14 and 2018/19 but has since been on an upward trend. It is now 22% higher than a decade ago.
- Approximately one-quarter (25%) of all items dispensed in 2023/24 were categorised as mainly treating conditions of the Central Nervous System. These items accounted for one fifth (20%) of total ingredient cost.
- Around 46% of prescription items for which the age of the patient could be determined were dispensed to patients aged 65 or over, with over one-third (34%) dispensed to patients in the 45 to 64 age group.
- The number of items dispensed in the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland was 46% higher than in the least deprived. Conversely, the average ingredient cost per item was over 20% higher in the least deprived areas.
- Approximately one in four females (26%) in Northern Ireland received anti-depressant medication during 2023/24. The equivalent figure for males was 15%. The proportion of the population receiving anti-depressant medication in the most deprived areas was over one and a half times that observed in the least deprived.
- More than one third of the NI population (37%) received at least one prescription for an antibiotic during 2023/24. This proportion rose to 66% for the population aged 85 and over.
- Of the UK countries that had data available, Northern Ireland had the highest ingredient cost per person in the 2023/24 financial year, at just over £263. This was 38% higher than England, where the equivalent cost was just over £191 in same year.
Notes to editors:
- This is the fifth year that General Pharmaceutical Services Statistics for Northern Ireland has been released as a standalone report. This information was previously included as part of the FPS compendium published in 2017/18 and 2018/19. The report was produced by the Health and Social Care’s Business Services Organisation (BSO) which was specified as an Official Statistics producer body under the Official Statistics Order (Northern Ireland) 2012. It provides the definitive source of figures on BSO FPS General Pharmaceutical Service activity and finalises the provisional quarterly figures which have been released over the course of 2023/24.
- This is an Accredited Official Statistics publication. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 – see here for further explanation of this terminology. These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in May 2022. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’. All accredited official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Authority considers whether the statistics meet the highest standards of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate. These statistics were considered as part of a wider assessment of the BSO Family Practitioner Services statistics.
- Family Practitioner Services (FPS) is responsible for annual payments to primary care contractors including GP Practices, Dentists, Opticians and Community Pharmacists on behalf of the former Health and Social Care Board (HSCB), now Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG) within the Department of Health. In 2023/24 this figure was over £973 million.
- The data relate to BSO’s General Pharmaceutical Service payment and volumes reimbursed and have been sourced from administrative systems. It is important to note that, unless otherwise stated, figures relate to the year in which a payment was processed by BSO and this may not necessarily coincide with when prescription items were dispensed (i.e. some prescriptions from a previous year may be processed in the current year whilst, conversely, some prescriptions relating to the current year may not be processed until a later year).
- Whilst a number of UK comparisons have been included in the report, there can be important differences in how services are delivered between countries that can impact on the figures. Further detail is provided in the report and the Background Quality Report available at:
- The report itself presents high level summary information, with all of the detailed data tables provided in the accompanying Excel appendices. The figures are prepared and released by independent NISRA statisticians working within BSO’s FPS Information Unit.
- Quarterly updates for 2024/25, for key report tables, will be released on a provisional basis on the FPS section of the BSO website:
These will be added to the historic quarterly series. The timetable for the release of the quarterly updates will also be published on the BSO website and all publications, both quarterly and annual, will be formally announced on the GOV.UK release calendar:
Research and statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Electronic copies of the bulletin and associated Excel tables are available free of charge from:
Accredited Official Statistics
These are Accredited Official Statistics and therefore comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Further Information
For further information please contact:
Information Unit
Family Practitioner Services
Business Services Organisation
2 Franklin Street
Belfast BT2 8DQ
- For media enquiries please contact the DoH Press Office by email pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk.
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- The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service For Media Enquiries Only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
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