Speeches

James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost to the NHS was of (a) aspirin, (b) ibuprofen and (c) equivalent medication prescribed by GPs in each of the last five years.

David Mowat

Information on the net ingredient cost of prescription items dispensed in the community in England is provided in the table below.

Year

Net ingredient cost2: aspirin (excluding combination medicines) £000

Net ingredient cost: ibuprofen £000

Net ingredient cost: other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs1 £000

2010

590.3

9,999.3

80,767.1

2011

443.9

9,927.1

71,045.5

2012

495.3

12,182.8

71,915.7

2013

593.0

13,788.0

63,617.2

2014

512.8

12,929.8

62,270.0

2015

499.4

12,835.7

59,922.9

Source: Prescription Cost Analysis system provided by NHS Digital

1 All other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs included in British National Formulary section 10.1.1, using the classification system prior to edition 70.

2 Net ingredient cost is the basic cost of a drug. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income.