Buprenorphine prescribing across the NHS.
Buprenorphine is two markets wearing one name: low-dose weekly patches for chronic pain, mostly in older people, and sublingual tablets treating opioid dependence. Together they make 3.7m items and £72m a year; Surrey and Sussex tops the ICB table at more than double the national rate, which is service design, not epidemiology.
The NHS in England dispensed 3,649,641 prescription items of Buprenorphine in the 12 months to May 2026, across primary care and hospitals.
Spending on Buprenorphine over those 12 months was £70.3m at net ingredient cost, the list price of what was dispensed before any discounts.
Items were up 2.7% on the previous 12 months.
94% of Buprenorphine volume moved through primary care and 6% through hospital pharmacies.
Buprenorphine ranks #4 of 17 chemical substances in Opioid analgesics (BNF 4.7.2), by items dispensed.
Among Integrated Care Boards, NHS Surrey and Sussex ICB dispensed the highest volume of Buprenorphine.
Source: NHS Business Services Authority open data (English Prescribing Data and SCMD), OGL v3.0. Items count prescriptions dispensed, not patients treated.
| Month | Items | Spend (NIC) |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 301,394 | £5.2m |
| April 2026 | 307,761 | £5.4m |
| March 2026 | 310,145 | £5.9m |
| February 2026 | 282,155 | £5.4m |
| January 2026 | 306,409 | £5.9m |
| December 2025 | 324,067 | £6.3m |
| November 2025 | 288,845 | £5.6m |
| October 2025 | 316,066 | £6.2m |
| September 2025 | 304,238 | £6.0m |
| August 2025 | 294,881 | £6.0m |
| July 2025 | 317,346 | £6.4m |
| June 2025 | 296,334 | £5.9m |
The same series as the chart, most recent month first. The full monthly history, as CSV, sits behind Apply.
12.4% of its class.
Buprenorphine ranks #4 of 17 chemical substances in Opioid analgesics (BNF 4.7.2), by items dispensed in May 2026. The full class league, who's gaining, and the month-by-month share movement sit behind Apply.
Average items by calendar month across the full history, indexed to the annual mean.
Buprenorphine across all 36 ICBs.
Every Integrated Care Board in England, shaded by how much buprenorphine its GPs dispense per head of population. Hover an ICB to name it. The ranked figures for all 36 ICBs, and the drill-down to practice level, are in the full report.
Darker shading marks where Buprenorphine is dispensed most per head of population. Exact figures for every ICB, and the drill-down to practice level, are in the full report.
Zoomed out to the 7 NHS regions.
The same 12 months rolled up to NHS England's seven regions, ranked by intensity.
The teaser view.
Three rows each. The full 36-ICB view, every prescribing organisation, every strength and the hospital picture sit below the fold, behind Apply.
- 1 NHS Surrey and Sussex ICB 489k
- 2 NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB 232k
- 3 NHS West and North London ICB 180k
- – + 33 more. Unlock the full 36-ICB table. Unlock →
- 1 NHS Gloucestershire ICB +9.4%
- 2 NHS Dorset ICB +9.4%
- 3 NHS North East London ICB +8.8%
- – + 33 more. Unlock every ICB, ranked. Unlock →
- 1 Butec 5micrograms/hour transdermal patches 9%
- 2 Butec 10micrograms/hour transdermal patches 8%
- 3 Sevodyne 5micrograms/hour transdermal patches 7%
- – + 3 more. Unlock every strength and pack. Unlock →
Split of items across NHSBSA primary care and SCMD hospital dispensing.
Prescribing by deprivation.
Items per 1,000 registered patients by deprivation decile (1 = most deprived), practice deprivation weighted by where each practice's patients live. Read the shape rather than the absolute level: the most and least deprived deciles cover far fewer practices, and age structure drives much of the gradient.
The devolved nations.
| Nation | Items · 12 months | Data to |
|---|---|---|
| England | 3.6m | May 2026 |
| Northern Ireland | 206k | May 2026 |
| Scotland | 202k | April 2026 |
| Wales | 126k | April 2026 |
Each nation publishes its own community prescribing data, with different coding and list rules, so read these per-nation rather than as an exact UK total. Sources: NHSBSA (England), Public Health Scotland.
What open data won't tell you about buprenorphine.
The pain-dependence split is guessable from formulations but never recorded, and much dependence treatment is commissioned outside primary-care prescribing entirely, so this line understates that work.
Asked and answered.
Is buprenorphine prescribing rising or falling in the NHS?
Rising. England dispensed 3,649,641 items of Buprenorphine in the 12 months to May 2026, up 2.7% on the previous 12 months. Items count prescriptions dispensed, not patients treated, so the change can reflect dose and duration shifts as well as patient numbers.
How much does the NHS spend on buprenorphine?
£70.3m at net ingredient cost in the 12 months to May 2026. Net ingredient cost is the list price of the medicine before discounts and rebates; the NHS's final bill, especially for hospital medicines, is usually lower.
Where in England is buprenorphine prescribed most?
By raw volume, NHS Surrey and Sussex ICB dispensed the most buprenorphine in the last 12 months. Raw volume favours the biggest populations; the map on this page shades every ICB by items per head to correct for that.
How up to date is this data?
This page runs to May 2026, the most recent NHSBSA release. Prescribing data publishes roughly six to eight weeks in arrears, and DoseTrend refreshes within 48 hours of each monthly release.
The full breakdown.
Every ICB, every prescribing organisation, every strength, the hospital view, and the monthly briefing PDF. Sample rows shown below with the numbers obscured.
Related pages.
See the full molecule directory, or read about the data and pricing.
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