Prescription items and costs by cluster deprivation quintiles

Variable filters

You will be able to change the filter selections once you've chosen how to view the data.
Year
3 of 3 selected
No values match your search
Area
74 of 74 selected
No values match your search
Deprivation quintile
6 of 6 selected
No values match your search
Data description

This indicates what a data value represents

6 of 6 selected
No values match your search

Choose how to view the data

You'll be asked to choose 2 variables to show on a table
The data will be shown with columns for each of the variables in the dataset, with a data value for all combinations of variables

Next update expected:September 2027

Updates

16th July 2026
Dataset first published.

Main information

Designation
Official statistics
Data provider
NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Data source
Prescribing Services
Time period covered
April 2023 to March 2026
Dataset ID
65b420dd-57e4-41ec-8b3d-21463dde5d2e

Overview

Summary of dataset and variables

This dataset is based on items prescribed by any Welsh general practice staff member, qualified to prescribe, which are subsequently dispensed in the community in the UK.

'Items’ refer to each different medicine or appliance listed on a prescription regardless of quantity or volume. Only items which are dispensed are counted.

Net ingredient cost, measured in pounds sterling, is the underlying cost of the item, before any additional fees (for example, dispensing fees to pharmacies) or discounts (NHS clawbacks) are applied.

General practice registered population is used for population measures, as the items prescribed are prescribed to the general practice population rather than the overall population of Wales.

A 'cluster' is a collaborative way of providing health services in Wales, which brings together services provided by general practices, other primary care services, district nurses, social services and the third sector. Clusters are not based on exact geographic areas, but bring together neighbouring service providers. The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation is the official measure of deprivation in small areas in Wales. Cluster deprivation is based on the measure 'percentage of cluster population who live in the most deprived areas of Wales, measured by the WIMD'.

Quintile 1 contains the clusters with the highest percentage of its population living in a deprived area. Quintile 5 contains clusters with the lowest percentage of its population living in a deprived area.

Only general practices which we can confidently assign prescriptions to are included in this dataset. Therefore, the number of items and associated costs may differ for this dataset compared to other prescriptions datasets. These include a relatively small number of items (less than 0.5% of the total) prescribed in non-primary care contractor settings such as specialist continence services, prisons and police stations.

This dataset uses GP deprivation by cluster at the latter year of the financial year (for example, 2026 for the financial year 2025 to 2026), meaning that the GP cluster data will reflect populations and quintiles just out of the financial year.

Data collection or calculation

Prescriptions data are obtained from Prescribing Services, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership and are based on information on prescription forms sent by the prescriber for payment.

The Welsh Reference Data and Terminology Service (WRTS) in Digital Health and Care Wales are responsible for mainatining lists of clusters, with look ups to match each general practice to a cluster.

Clusters are allocated to deprivation quintiles based on the method described in this statistical article: https://www.gov.wales/general-practice-and-primary-care-cluster-population-and-workforce-deprivation-31-december-2021

Statistical quality

See associated Statistical Release for detailed notes, background and definitions.

Related reports

Published by

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