NHS issues advice to reduce waste of unused medicines

This comes after a report by the Department of Health and Social Care estimated that unused medicines cost the NHS around £300 million every year.

To help reduce this waste, NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board has launched a new campaign.

The campaign encourages people to check their stock before requesting more medicines.

Tania Farrow, medicines optimisation pharmacist at NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, said: “We want to remind people how important it is to check what medicines they have at home before requesting more repeat prescription items and to say thank you to the many people who already do this.

“We know that a significant number of repeat prescription medicines are not used as intended and are returned to pharmacies for destruction.

“With your support, we hope that we can make a difference and reduce the number of unused medicines.

“We have learned that ordering unnecessary medication can increase the risk of medicines shortages in pharmacies and we want to make sure essential medications are available to those who need them.

“We want people to have the right medicine and the right care.”

The NHS has provided some helpful tips for patients, including only ordering medication if needed, keeping all medication in one safe place at home, taking medication from one pill packet at a time, and making a note on the calendar seven to 10 days before the prescription due date to check what is left.

Lauren Seamons, from Community Pharmacy Norfolk & Suffolk, said: “We are asking our patients and their carers to be conscientious about only ordering the medication they need.

“This will also help our busy pharmacy teams to focus on delivering other clinical services that are important to our local communities.”

Karen Samuel-Smith, from Community Pharmacy Essex, added: “It can be challenging organising medication, particularly if you need to take a lot of medicines or you help someone else to order and take theirs, but it may be safer to organise and manage medication in the ways suggested above.”