BRIGG PEOPLE ADVISED ON WASTED MEDICINE

From NHS Yorkshire and Humber 

It’s a hard pill to swallow but an estimated £2 million worth of medicine is wasted in North Lincolnshire every year.
This is money that could be better spent on other areas of patient care and local doctors hope to remedy that by urging people who get repeat prescriptions to only order what they need.
People often have a number of medicines they need to take regularly or have taken in the past on their prescription. Instead of just ticking all of the items, patients are being asked to make sure they only order what they need.
Dr Margaret Sanderson, a North Lincolnshire GP and Chair of North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said it’s not uncommon for everything on the repeat prescription to be ticked every time a request is made. Some patients place orders themselves while others have an arrangement with carers or their local pharmacy to order on their behalf. Some medicines are to be used when required or have larger pack sizes so are not meant to be ordered every month.
“Some patients end up with a stock of unused and often out-of-date medicines at home which is a real safety risk for themselves and their families, especially any children in the house or who come to visit,” said Dr Sanderson. “Medicines are not always stored as safely as they could be and it’s not unheard of to find them piled up in the kitchen cupboard.”
“It’s also a terrible waste of money. Once medicines have left the pharmacy or doctor’s dispensary, they can’t be reused or recycled and have to be destroyed. The best thing to do is check what you really need before you reorder your repeat prescription and don’t tick the things you don’t need.
“Also, if your local pharmacy sorts out your repeat prescription for you, please remember to tell them which items you need and not to get you everything.”
The £2m spent on unused prescription medicines each year in North Lincolnshire could pay for around 530 hip or knee replacements, more than 2000 cataract operations or fund 80 more nursing posts.
People who have repeat prescriptions are being urged to:

• let their GP or pharmacist know if they have stopped taking one of their medicines;
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• check what they have at home before re-ordering;
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• talk to their doctor or pharmacist about the medicines they take on a regular basis;
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• only order the items they need;
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• if they need to go into hospital to remember to take all their medicines with them;
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• remember that it’s not safe to share medicines with others, even if you think they have the same symptoms.

It is important to have a regular review of the medicines you take with your GP or pharmacist.
“This is an opportunity to make sure the medicines you take are doing their job properly,” said Dr Sanderson. “It’s also a good chance to talk through any concerns you might have. Sometimes, people are prescribed medicines and they don’t really understand or have forgotten why so they simply don’t take them or throw them away. If they are not taking medicine they should be taking then this won’t help them to feel better.”
If you have any questions about what’s on your repeat prescription, speak to your local community pharmacist or your GP. If you have out of date medicines at home or things you no longer use then take them to your pharmacy so they can be disposed of safely.