NHS England has warned of a continued shortage in the supply of the hypertension treatment valsartan.

Irregular stock supply of both capsules and tablets was expected to last several months, with the situation possibly changing from "week to week", NHS England said in a letter to healthcare professionals this week (March 18).

Pharmacists who could not obtain stock for a prescription should refer patients back to their GP for an alternative drug, said Professor Huon Gray, national clinical director for cardiac care, and Mike Durin, national director of patient safety at NHS England.

Pharmacists who could not obtain stock for valsartan prescriptions should refer patients back to their GP for an alternative, said national clinical director for cardiac care Professor Huon Gray	More on stock shortages Epanutin out of stock due to manufacturing problems PMR codes for stock shortages to be cut C+D calls for urgent action to fix problems in supply chain
	GPs could prescribe suitable alternatives such as losartan and candesartan, they added. UK Medicines Information (UKMI) had identified the two alternatives as the only licensed treatments for both hypertension and heart failure.

The Department of Health (DH) and NHS England were monitoring the situation "closely" and were working with suppliers to resolve the issue, they said.

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