Pharmacists can dispense Paracetamol 120mg suppositories in accordance with the prescription, as the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed that sufficient stocks are available to meet normal demand.
This means the Serious Shortage Protocol — SSP033 — for Paracetamol 120mg suppositories has now expired since 26 August 2022.
Top tips for SSP claims
- NHSBSA advise that contractors must follow the specific endorsement guidance issued with each SSP and endorsements should be clear and unambiguous – NHSBSA processing staff must be able to determine what has been supplied. NHSBSA have published information on common SSP endorsing errors they see when processing claims.
- Any paper prescriptions with SSP claims need to be placed in the red separator provided by the NHSBSA.
- Although an SSP cannot be used outside its period of validity, claims can be submitted up to three calendar months after expiry or withdrawal of the SSP to help manage any owings for other items issued on the same prescription form. For example, for SSP033 Paracetamol 120mg suppositories, which expires at 23.59pm on Friday 26 August 2022, the NHSBSA would continue to look for the “SSP” endorsement on prescriptions for Paracetamol 120mg suppositories that are submitted with the August batch (submitted by 5 September), September batch (submitted by 5 October) and October batch (submitted by 5 November).
- Pharmacy contractors should declare the number of SSP claims submitted each month to reconcile against their monthly Schedule of Payments or Prescription Item (Px) reports.
- View PSNC SSP submission guidance to ensure your SSP claims are appropriately submitted to NHSBSA for reimbursement.
