The monthly briefing, in full.
This is what a subscriber gets in their inbox on the first working day of every month. No teaser, no email wall, no "book a demo to see the rest". The whole thing.
Primary-care items up 12.4% year on year.
Apixaban continues its steady march up the anticoagulant table. May 2026 primary care items sit at 1.42m, against 1.26m in May 2025. Hospital dispensing is up 6.9% on the same window.
The regional picture is quieter than the national one: Greater Manchester and North East & North Cumbria are pulling the average up; Cheshire & Merseyside is the only ICB in genuine decline this month.
Primary vs secondary care, indexed to Jan 2024.
Top and bottom this month.
| ICB | Items, May 2026 | Change YoY | Spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Manchester | 128,450 | +12.4% | £214,900 |
| North East and North Cumbria | 117,220 | +8.1% | £196,340 |
| West Yorkshire | 104,880 | +7.6% | £176,220 |
| Cheshire and Merseyside | 96,010 | −3.2% | £161,750 |
| Kent and Medway | 62,340 | +2.1% | £104,880 |
Source: NHSBSA EPD, May 2026. Full 42-ICB table in the subscriber dashboard.
Two things, no more.
Cheshire & Merseyside. Three months of decline is a pattern. The local formulary decision from March is starting to bite; watch whether it spreads to neighbouring ICBs.
Hospital dispensing gap. Primary care is running seven points ahead of secondary. That gap has closed after the summer for three years running; we'll flag if it doesn't this year.