A Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) has been issued by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for Venlafaxine 37.5mg modified-release tablets.
Used for anxiety and depression, the SSP has been issued in response to ‘a significant ongoing disruption' to supply.
Effective from 23 June 2025 and expiring 1 August 2025, SSP083, provides that for every Venlafaxine 37.5mg modified-release tablet originally prescribed, one Venlafaxine 37.5mg modified-release capsule must be supplied.
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It follows reports from Community Pharmacy England (CPE) that the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has ‘received a number of EPS SSP claims which did not meet the requirements for a valid SSP claim’.
‘A large number [of] SSP claims continue to be deemed invalid by the NHSBSA due to incorrect endorsements applied by PMR systems and/or pharmacy staff,’ said CPE.
‘We recommend pharmacy owners to regularly reconcile the value of SSP fees on their payment schedules against the number of SSPs declared on the FP34C submission form.’
It adds: ‘If there is a payment discrepancy and it is believed that the correct SSP endorsing guidance was followed, pharmacy owners may consider requesting a re-check of relevant prescriptions and the NHSBSA will be able to explain why the claim was unpaid or rectify the payments.’
CPE states that ‘reimbursement is for the medicine supplied in accordance with the SSP and not the originally prescribed medicine i.e. in this instance pharmacy owners will be reimbursed the reimbursement price for Venlafaxine 37.5mg modified-release capsules’.
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Information released by the NHSBSA to support the SSP said: ‘Supply in accordance with this SSP 083 will result in the following fees being paid to the contactor: One Single Activity Fee (£1.46) [and] one SSP fee (£5.35).
‘The supplied product in accordance with this SSP 083 will be reimbursed as if it was dispensed against a prescription. In this instance, contractors will be reimbursed the Part VIIIA reimbursement price for the quantity supplied for Venlafaxine 37.5mg modified release capsules.’
The protocol advises that pharmacists should ensure that patients considered unsuitable for inclusion are promptly referred to their prescriber for further advice and that the patient’s prescriber is notified when supplying a patient in accordance with this SSP.
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The supervising pharmacist, using their professional judgement, must also determine that swapping the patient to a different form of medicine would be suitable for the patient.
This latest SSP comes after the DHSC revealed it has ‘no plans’ to conduct a review of the impact of medicine supply chain shortages on community pharmacies.
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