Prophylactic paracetamol following MenB vaccine - Community Pharmacy Service; Q&A’s

See below a table which summarises some of the practical aspects of the Community Pharmacy Public Health Service - supply of prophylactic paracetamol following MenB vaccine (from October 2015)

Question / Answer
PGD required for supply of paracetamol by pharmacists for this new service? / Yes - this PGD will be used to underpin the supply until the advice on corresponding SPCs & PILs for the paracetamol products have been updated. See NHS Fife page of SHOW website for PGD.
Do parents/carers require to have the babies “red book” before a supply can be made via this PGD? / No; a supply can be made without the “red book”. N.B. the supply of the paracetamol must not be delayed if the “red book” is not available.
Health Visitors/GP practice staff will ask Parents/Carers to visit their community pharmacy either in advance of their first immunisation appointment or immediately after with the “red book”
At what age will paracetamol be required for babies following MenB vaccine? / When babies receive their primary doses of MenB vaccine usually at age 2 months & 4 months (along with other routine childhood immunisations)
Will the supply of THREE doses of paracetamol come solely via this service? / Yes – the supply will be made as 1 x 100ml paracetamol suspension 120mg in 5ml (as outlined in the PGD)
Type of prescription to be used? / CPUS - See section 3.1, Annex B of PGD for the endorsement required
Prescriber code for prescription? / 99996 i.e. the same as other Community Pharmacy Public Health Services
Can the supply of 100ml paracetamol suspension 120mg in 5ml made at 2 months, be used for 4 month MenB vaccination too? / Yes – as long as the bottle has been properly stored & is in date.
How should the supplied paracetamol suspension 120mg in 5ml be labelled? / The full labelling instructions for the three paracetamol doses are stated in section 3.1, Annex B of PGD i.e.
(i)  Give a 2.5ml dose orally at the same time as or as soon as possible after vaccination,
(ii)  a second 2.5ml dose four to six hours after the first dose, and
(iii)  a third 2.5ml dose after a further four to six hours.
How should the directions for paracetamol use be written on the CPUS prescription? / The directions can simply be stated as “Give as per national paracetamol post MenB vaccine PGD”
Are babies that weigh less than 3kg eligible for this service? / No; Babies that weigh less than 3kg are excluded from this service & should be referred to GP (as outlined in the PGD)
Are patient information leaflets available for this service? / NHS Scotland has produced flyers to support this service i.e. “Is your baby due MenB vaccine/ask your pharmacist about paracetamol for your baby”. These can now be requested on the stationary order form in the NHS Fife section of the SHOW web site
Where does the MenB vaccination fit into the routine childhood immunisation schedule? /

See link below to the Routine Childhood Immunisation Schedule on the Immunisation Scotland website; www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/when-to-immunise/immunisation-schedule.aspx

Other resources:

NES/Health Protection Scotland document re Information for Health Care Practitioners on the MenB vaccination programme – June 2015 (NB see the Q&A’s on the administration of prophylactic paracetamol - see pages 3-6) http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/media/3381342/MenB-2015-FAQ.pdf

William John, Public Health Pharmacist, March 2016 (v2)