Prescriptions for the over 65s (FOI)

​​​Request

A

Please confirm the number of people aged 65 and over.

B

Please confirm the number of their prescriptions per year.

3

Please confirm the cost of their prescriptions per year.

4

Please advise of the number of hospital admissions per year for adverse drug reactions.

5

Please confirm the c ost per year of hospital admissions for adverse drug reactions.

Response

A

At the last census, taken on 21 March 2021, 18,736 people over 65 years of age were recorded in Jersey.

Estimated population data is published on www.gov.je at the following link:

Population estimates (gov.je)

As explained on the website:

‘The main measure of Jersey’s population is provided by the census, which was last held in March 2021. Annual population estimates are produced between each census.’

The most recent year of data currently available is 2022. 

Statistics Jersey estimated the number of adults aged over 65 living in Jersey was 19,610.

Statistics Jersey’s latest population estimate report is available at the following link:

Population and Migration Statistics Update 2022 (gov.je)

B and C

Health and Community Services Response:

66,383 prescriptions were dispensed to patients aged 65 and over through Health and Community Services’ Pharmacy in the last 12 months, from 31 August 2023 to 31 July 2024.

The total cost for these prescriptions is £5,589,538.01.

It is not possible to report on prescriptions that were written and prepared, but not collected.

Customer and Local Services Response:

Prescription data regarding Primary Care prescribing does not capture any patient details or demographics. Therefore, the information is not held on the cost or number of prescriptions issued to patients aged 65 or over. Consequently, Article 10 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

D and E

It is not possible to report the reason(s) documented for admission to hospital from diagnosis codes assigned to episodes of admitted patient care, as National Clinical Coding Standards direct to assign codes and sequence according to the main condition(s) treated or investigated in an episode of care as a whole. Additionally, adverse drug reactions require multiple code assignment, and cannot be identified through ‘Primary Diagnosis’ reporting. Whilst reason(s) for admission will be recorded in individual clinical notes, the information is not held in a format which allows this to be isolated and reported from a central record. Therefore, Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

Articles applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 10 - Obligation of scheduled public authority to confirm or deny holding Information

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if –

(a) a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority; and

(b) the authority does not hold the information, it must inform the applicant accordingly.