Ferrous fumarate prescribing across the NHS.
Ferrous fumarate has overtaken ferrous sulfate as England's iron of choice: 5.5m items a year against 4m. The switch is tolerability folklore and formulary fashion as much as evidence, and both lines are growing as anaemia pathways push more testing.
The NHS in England dispensed 5,493,703 prescription items of Ferrous fumarate in the 12 months to May 2026, across primary care and hospitals.
Spending on Ferrous fumarate over those 12 months was £10.6m at net ingredient cost, the list price of what was dispensed before any discounts.
Items were up 4.3% on the previous 12 months.
94% of Ferrous fumarate volume moved through primary care and 6% through hospital pharmacies.
Ferrous fumarate is the largest of 7 chemical substances in Oral iron (BNF 9.1.1.1), by items dispensed.
Among Integrated Care Boards, NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB dispensed the highest volume of Ferrous fumarate.
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 | 458,008 | £768k |
| April 2026 | 466,959 | £834k |
| March 2026 | 472,929 | £714k |
| February 2026 | 432,009 | £648k |
| January 2026 | 459,134 | £681k |
| December 2025 | 473,160 | £998k |
| November 2025 | 436,999 | £937k |
| October 2025 | 472,297 | £1.0m |
| September 2025 | 461,252 | £995k |
| August 2025 | 434,753 | £934k |
| July 2025 | 477,653 | £1.0m |
| June 2025 | 448,550 | £985k |
The same series as the chart, most recent month first. The full monthly history, as CSV, sits behind Apply.
54.7% of its class.
Ferrous fumarate is the largest of 7 chemical substances in Oral iron (BNF 9.1.1.1), 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.
Ferrous fumarate across all 36 ICBs.
Every Integrated Care Board in England, shaded by how much ferrous fumarate 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 Ferrous fumarate 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 North East and North Cumbria ICB 424k
- 2 NHS West and North London ICB 376k
- 3 NHS North East London ICB 343k
- – + 33 more. Unlock the full 36-ICB table. Unlock →
- 1 NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB +20.8%
- 2 NHS West Yorkshire ICB +16.2%
- 3 NHS South West London ICB +10.9%
- – + 33 more. Unlock every ICB, ranked. Unlock →
- 1 Ferrous fumarate 210mg tablets 79%
- 2 Ferrous fumarate 322mg tablets 10%
- 3 Ferrous fumarate 305mg capsules 6%
- – + 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 | 5.5m | May 2026 |
| Northern Ireland | 182k | May 2026 |
| Scotland | 516k | April 2026 |
| Wales | 486k | 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 ferrous fumarate.
Neither line shows whether anyone's haemoglobin improved, or how many packets sat unfinished because of the side effects that make oral iron notorious.
Asked and answered.
Is ferrous fumarate prescribing rising or falling in the NHS?
Rising. England dispensed 5,493,703 items of Ferrous fumarate in the 12 months to May 2026, up 4.3% 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 ferrous fumarate?
£10.6m 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 ferrous fumarate prescribed most?
By raw volume, NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB dispensed the most ferrous fumarate 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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