FOI-03855

Request   You asked us:  Total number of metred dose inhalers prescribed annually.   Total number of spacer devices or valved holding chambers prescribed annually.   If possible, also broken down for different regions/trusts.   Date range:  1/1/2015 – 22/5/2026   The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 22 May 2026.   We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.   Our response   April and May 2026   I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA. There is a lag between prescriptions being dispensed, and them being sent to the NHSBSA for processing, meaning that prescriptions for April and May 2026 (partial month requested) are not held.  Data up to March 2026   We can confirm the requested information is held by the NHSBSA.  Under Section 21 of the FOIA we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.   The information you requested is available through the annual Prescription Cost Analysis datasets. A full overview can be found at:  https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/prescription-cost-analysis-england   This provides an overview of the dataset and relevant links. Annual datasets broken down by ICB are available to view or download in CSV format at the following link:  Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Annual Statistics - Datasets - Open Data Portal   Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full -  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21   Advice and assistance   Please note that ‘metred dose inhalers’, ‘spacer devices’, and ‘valved holding chambers’ are not recognised classifications within the BNF. Relevant entries can be found by filtering the BNF Chapter by for Respiratory System and identifying the products of interest.  Please note that March 2026 is the latest data currently available.