Case study
Medicines waste campaign
Wasted medicines are costing the local NHS up to £1 million every year.
Sometimes, patients or carers with repeat prescriptions get more medicines than they really need and stockpile them at home. This is a growing problem for the NHS that wastes huge quantities of medicines and public monies.
Once prescription medicines have been dispensed from a pharmacy they cannot be recycled, even if they are unopened. This is costing NHS Bury up to £1 million every year:
This could pay for one of the following:
- 30 community nurses
- 200 hip replacements
- 140 heart by-pass operations
- 1400 cataract operations
- 180 knee replacements
In a bid to kerb this unnecessary waste, NHS Bury launched a campaign to appeal to patients to only order what they need, so that vital NHS monies can be invested elsewhere. NHS Bury has also been getting the backing of local GPs and pharmacists.
The campaign entitled ‘wasted medicines waste money’ aims to highlight the problem and let patients know what they can do to help.
Susan Storey for NHS Bury’s Medicines Management Team said: “There are a number of ways patients can help to reduce medicine wastage. We are asking patients only to request the medicines they need and are running out of when they order a repeat prescription. It’s also important that patients talk to their GP or pharmacist if they have stopped taking any of their medicines and discuss with them their medication requirements on a regular basis.”
The key messages of the ‘wasted medicines waste money’ campaign are:
- Wasted medicines waste money, which could be spent elsewhere.
- Unused medicines cannot be recycled.
- Let your GP or pharmacist know if you’ve stopped taking any of your medicines.
- Discuss your medication with your pharmacist or GP on a regular basis.
- Check what medicines you still have at home before re-ordering.
- Think carefully before ticking all the boxes on your repeat prescription forms and only tick those you really need.
- If your pharmacy requests your prescription from your doctor on your behalf, ensure you let them know which items you need just before your next prescription is due.
- If you don’t need the medicine now – don’t order it! If you need the medicine in the future you can still request it.
- If you need to go into hospital, please take all your prescription medicines with you.
Susan added: “Anyone who does have medicines that they no longer require should take them to their local pharmacy where they can be disposed of safely.”
