The Department of Health NI has issued correspondence here dated 22 July 2025 relating to the withdrawal of SSP083 (Venlafaxine 37.5mg Modified-Release Tablets). The letter advises that the supply situation regarding the availability of venlafaxine 37.5mg modified release tablets across the UK has now been resolved. SSP083 which was due to expire on Friday 2 August 2025 is now withdrawn and expired as of Tuesday 22 July 2025.
BACKGROUND
SSPs made under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 are an additional tool to manage and mitigate medicines shortages.
SSPs enable community pharmacists to supply specified medicines in accordance with a protocol rather than a prescription, without needing to seek authorisation from the prescriber – saving time for patients, pharmacists and prescribers.
Pharmacists should refer to the latest versions of the existing SSPs which are now available on the Business Services Organisation dedicated page on its website HERE.
Operational guidance on the implementation of SSPs in Northern Ireland can be found on the BSO website HERE.
ACTION
Contractors should:
Review the letter here dated 22 July 2025, and ensure that their dispensary teams are aware of the withdrawal of SSP083, and that they are also aware of the specific details relating to these SSPs; and
Note guidance relating to the decision pathways for SSPs; notification of GPs; the need for patient/carer agreement, and action to take when this is not given; professional judgement; and actions regarding unclear quantities.
Contractors are reminded of information issued by BSO ‘Serious Shortage Protocols: Submission Information for Contractors’ which can be accessed here.
Contractors should contact their local SPPG office in the first instance should further information be required. CPNI colleagues are also available for assistance.
Kind regards
Mike
SENT ON BEHALF OF PROF MIKE MAWHINNEY Head of Regulatory Affairs
**FAO LIVING WELL PHARMACIES ONLY**
Dear Contractor
SPPG have issued correspondence on 24 July 2025 regarding the Living Well Service.
SUMMARY
The ‘Move more, feel better’ campaign will commence on 1 August 2025 and will run for two months.
The campaign aims to increase awareness of the benefits of including regular physical activity in daily life.
The posters, leaflets and campaign briefing for ‘Move more, feel better’ will be delivered by 28 July 2025, unless arranged otherwise.
If you have not received your ‘Move more, feel better’ campaign resource pack by 28 July 2025, please email reception.pha@hscni.net by no later than 8 August 2025 using the subject heading “LIVING WELL PHARMACY CAMPAIGN”. Note: This is for replacement and not additional supplies as resources for the campaign are limited.
Living Well posters should be displayed in at least one window unit of the pharmacy. Rotation of the supplied posters can occur over the campaign period.
PHA will release social media posts to support the campaign. Community pharmacies can share these on their social media channels, such as Facebook, X and Instagram, using the hashtags #LivingWell and #MoveMoreFeelBetter
Training resources for this campaign are detailed in the campaign briefing.
A requirement for the Living Well service is to complete an online survey for each campaign. Further information on this can be found in the letter.
Living Well survey opening and closing dates have been added to the BSO 2025 calendar provided to all contractors.
Reminder: The second campaign for 25/26 ‘Know your units‘ will finish on 31 July 2025. The survey for “Know your units” will open 4 August 2025 at 9am and will close 1 September 2025 at 6pm.
ACTION
Contractors are asked to read the correspondence issued by SPPG on 24 July 2025 regarding the Living Well Service and share with all relevant members of the team.
Please contact CPNI offices if you have any questions in relation to this correspondence.
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Contractor,
SPPG have issued correspondence today outlining changes to the payment methodologies for a number of community pharmacy funding streams including the £4m NIC funding announced in May 2025.
SUMMARY
The letter refers to three funding streams namely adherence, non-global sum uplifts and the £4m employers national insurance funding. SPPG and CPNI have agreed to consolidate these funding streams into the global sum and to be paid as increased ordinary dispensing fees and instalment dispensing fees. The revised fees which will be applied to June 2025 prescriptions and therefore will be paid in the July BSO payment, and going forward, are as follows:
Ordinary dispensing fee £1.48
Instalment dispensing fee £1.27
Monthly payments relating to adherence (medicines adherence support and medicines adherence additional 24/25) and non-global sum uplifts (non-global sum fees 24/25 (DDRB 23/24) and (DDRB 24/25)) will now cease.
Contractors are reminded of the DoH(NI) drug tariff definition of instalment dispensing in place since 1st May 2023 whereby instalment dispensing is no longer linked to adherence support.
The global sum is a defined budget and the fees have been agreed on the basis of projected volumes for 2025/26. Activity/expenditure will continue to be monitored by SPPG and the established reconciliation process will remain in place i.e. in the event of an annual underpayment, a balancing payment will be made to contractors, or equally, in the event of an annual overpayment, fees will be reduced or recovery of funding will take place.
Significant changes to instalment prescribing and dispensing activity levels are not anticipated and any significant increases in instalment dispensing activity at a contractor level will also be monitored by SPPG.
The letter also confirms that the Minister has accepted the DDRB recommendation of a 4% uplift for 2025/26. However, as with other HSC pay awards/uplifts, this is subject to final approval from the NI Executive. Following any approval, SPPG will liaise with CPNI to determine how this funding will be allocated later in 2025/26.
ACTION
Please share this information with relevant members of your pharmacy team.
CPNI would also remind contractors of the CPNI letter issued to contractors dated 26th January 2024, which still stands and can be used by contractors when liaising with GP practices that may be removing instalment dispensing instructions from prescriptions.
Please do not hesitate to contact the CPNI office should you require any further information.
Kind regards,
SENT ON BEHALF OF GERARD GREENE Chief Executive
Dear Contractor
Background
One password is believed to have been all it took for a ransomware gang to destroy a 158-year-old company and put 700 people out of work.
The attached link to the BBC website gives the harrowing details of the loss of a company due to a cyber attack. The BBC reports that:
“KNP – a Northamptonshire transport company – is just one of tens of thousands of UK businesses that have been hit by such attacks. Big names such as M&S, Co-op and Harrods have all been attacked in recent months. The Chief Executive of Co-op confirmed last week that all 6.5 million of its members had had their data stolen.
In KNP’s case, it’s thought the hackers managed to gain entry to the computer system by guessing an employee’s password, after which they encrypted the company’s data and locked its internal systems”.
Action
Contractors are asked to:
Bring this to the attention of their staff; and
Note the attached information on ransomware provided by the National Cyber Security Centre which includes key messages to help prepare for and protect against ransomware attacks.
Contractors are reminded that the storage and back up of patient sensitive data and any amendments to your systems should only be carried out in line with advice from your IT or email supplier, PMR system provider and in line with Data Protection legislation.
Kind regards
Mike
SENT ON BEHALF OF PROF MIKE MAWHINNEY Head of Regulatory Affairs
This update contains important information for community pharmacy teams.
This letter was issued by SPPG on 20th June 2025 advising of the discontinuation of Freestyle Libre 2, Freestyle Libre 3 and Dexcom 1. Patients should be switched to suitable alternatives as outlined. Community pharmacies may wish to remind patients who have not yet been switched to contact their GP practice. If your local GP practice has not switched patients over, you may wish to remind them of the letter issued by SPPG outlining the action they are to take.
Pharmacy teams should be aware that the brand Otomize® ear spray has been discontinued and will no longer be available for community pharmacies to order once existing stock is exhausted. The manufacturer Ennogen Healthcare International Limited has instead launched a generic equivalent version as Dexamethasone/ Neomycin sulfate/ Acetic acid 0.1%w/w / 0.5%w/w / 2%w/w Ear Spray. The generic is now readily available to order from wholesalers. Where a prescriber has issued a prescription for Otomize® ear spray and the brand is unavailable to order, pharmacy teams are advised to contact the prescriber and request a replacement prescription for the generic Dexamethasone/ Neomycin sulfate/ Acetic acid 0.1%w/w / 0.5%w/w / 2%w/w Ear Spray. Furthermore, pharmacy teams are advised to check, when ordering, that the correct product is selected on systems i.e. Dexamethasone/ Neomycin sulfate/ Acetic acid 0.1%w/w / 0.5%w/w / 2%w/w Ear Spray instead of Otomize® ear spray. Should you require any further information, please contact Ennogen on 013 2262 9220 or email info@ennogen.com if you have any questions relating to the generic product.
Please bring this to the attention of your pharmacy team(s).
Kind regards
SENT ON BEHALF OF Gerard Greene Chief Executive
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