Emergency medicines supply: most frequently supplied items by year

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Next update expected:2027

Updates

12th March 2026
Dataset first published.

Main information

Designation
Official statistics
Data provider
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Data source
Prescribing Services
Time period covered
April 2017 to March 2025

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

The Emergency Medicines Supply Service (EMS) is an NHS service provided by community pharmacies in Wales. It allows patients to receive a short‑term supply of their previously prescribed medicines when they have an urgent need and cannot obtain a prescription in time. This dataset shows the ten most frequently supplied medicines by pharmacists through EMS in each year.

Medicines supplied through EMS are not coded in the exact same way as medicines that are dispensed by pharmacies through prescriptions. Therefore they are not grouped by British National Formulary Chapter like prescriptions data are.

Medicines are grouped by how they are recorded in the raw data, which normally include the brand or drug name, dosage and form of the medicine. Therefore, the same medicine maybe recorded multiple times in the dataset if it has a different dosage and/or form.

The ten most frequently supplied items may differ between years, so full time series analysis of medicines is limited. The variables are: Year – the financial year in which the supply was recorded, medicine item – the name of the medicine supplied and items supplied – the number of times the item was supplied under the service.

Data collection or calculation

Data are collected from routine claims submitted by community pharmacies for Emergency Medicines Supply. Each claim includes details of the medicine supplied. Data are extracted and aggregated to produce annual totals. Items are ranked within each year based on the total number supplied. No estimation or modelling is used.

Statistical quality

The data are derived from administrative claims. They reflect items claimed and processed for payment. Data quality depends on accurate claim submission and coding of medicines. Late claims or adjustments may affect totals.

Related reports

Published by

Organisation
Welsh Government
Contact email
stats.healthinfo@gov.wales