A Serious Shortage Protocol for the antidepressant Fluoxetine 10mg, 30mg and 40mg capsules which are currently out of stock have been published by the Government today.
Fluoxetine 20mg capsules, tablets and oral solutions remain available in sufficient quantities to mitigate this supply issue during the affected period, and therefore SSPs have been issued, allowing pharmacists to switch to another strength of pharmaceutical form of Fluoxetine.
Pharmacists would always have to use their professional judgment to decide whether it is appropriate to supply against an SSP and patients can always refuse the alternative and instead go to their GP to discuss alternative treatments. The SSPs and accompanying guidance have been published on the NHSBS website (in the SSP updates tab).
Read GPC’s statement about it here
The NHS BSA webpage also includes useful operational guidance for SSPS and Q&As