Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance (a) his Department and (b) NHS England provide to people who are prescribed SSRIs on the risks of developing Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved product information provided to healthcare professionals and patients for all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) was updated in 2019 to inform them that reports had been received of long-lasting sexual dysfunction where symptoms continue despite discontinuation of the SSRI. The MHRA was an integral part of the European Union-wide review of the available evidence, which underpinned the current warnings.

An Expert Working Group of the Commission on Human Medicines has been established to review evidence from patients and the scientific literature available since 2019, to address concerns about the ongoing lack of awareness of the existing warnings in the product information. A range of regulatory options are under consideration to help improve the communication of the risk of sexual dysfunction where symptoms continue after taking SSRIs.