FOI/2025/26/025

Request

This is an information request relating to NHS Trusts buying and supplying Paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Please include the following information for the financial years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25:

 

1. The total number of individual patients to whom paracetamol and ibuprofen were prescribed by your Trust annually.

Numbers below reflect the time Paracetamol and Ibuprofen were prescribe and issued to individual inpatients on bedded units or prescribed in primary care.

Numbers contain individual patients multiple times - the data available does not make it possible to distinguish between prescribing and re-prescribing.

FY 22/23: 1937

FY 23/24: 2737

FY 24/25*: 3881
 

2. The total amount spent by your Trust on supplying prescribed paracetamol and Ibuprofen in each of those financial years.

Please see totals in the table below.
 

3. If available, a breakdown of the form in which paracetamol was prescribed (e.g., tablets, capsules, liquid suspension, etc.) and associated costs for each form.

 

 

Form	FY 22/23 cost	FY 23/24 cost	FY 24/25* cost	Total
Ibugel 5% gel	4.56	0.00	0.00	4.56
Ibuleve 5% gel	20.82	0.00	0.00	20.82
Ibuprofen 10% gel	147.66	200.34	148.85	296.51
Ibuprofen 100MG/5ML SF suspension	0.00	5.70		5.70
Ibuprofen 200mg tablets	6.07	73.25	48.58	127.90
Ibuprofen 400mg tablets	42.29	1.59	50.06	93.94
Ibuprofen 5% / Levomenthol 3% gel	0.00	0.00	3.15	3.15
Ibuprofen 5% gel	559.56	565.54	1315.43	2440.53
Paracetamol 1G suppositories	0.00	71.40	0.00	71.40
Paracetamol 120mg/5ml oral suspension paediatric sugar free	0.00	16.44	56.92	73.36
Paracetamol 1g tablets	267.87	1143.68	182.84	1594.39
Paracetamol 250mg/5ml oral solution	107.48	123.35	0.00	230.83
Paracetamol 250mg/5ml oral suspension	1038.69	1638.01	2349.01	5025.71
Paracetamol 250mg/5ml oral suspension sugar free	24.21	79.88	54.89	158.99
Paracetamol SF 500MG/5ML oral solution	0.00	0.00	1009.71	1009.71
Paracetamol 500mg caplets	569.35	91.91	230.47	891.73
Paracetamol 500mg capsules	21.11	59.80	77.35	158.26
Paracetamol 500mg effervescent tablets	46.11	12.70	0.00	58.81
Paracetamol 500mg soluble tablets	719.68	1005.58	2337.67	4062.93
Paracetamol 500mg tablets	5274.81	8842.90	13067.21	27184.92
Total	8850.27	13731.73	20932.14

 

4. What are the specific conditions which qualify a patient to be prescribed paracetamol or ibuprofen? Or what is your general policy for qualifying a prescription for paracetamol or ibuprofen?

For patients seen in primary care NHS England » Guidance on conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care is being followed.

For inpatients in intermediate care wards the WHO Analgesic Ladder is followed.

 

*Please note that for prescribing data of FP10 prescriptions data for FY 2024/25 will be incomplete as information for the month of March is not yet available.