Campaign launched in bid to cut waste of medicines

The campaign was launched on Monday, February 20, across the eight primary care trust areas which make up the NHS South Central Strategic Health Authority after it was estimated that £90 million worth of unused prescription medicines are retained in individuals’ homes, across the UK, at any one time.
The campaign asks patients to only order what they need, return their unwanted medicines to their pharmacy for safe disposal and to take their medicines with them when they go into hospital.
Graham Jones from Graham Jones Pharmacy in Lambourn said that one piece of advice was for people to talk to their pharmacist or doctor if they were unsure about what medications they should be taking.
He said that the new campaign was a positive step and added: "In my experience, a huge amount of medication does get wasted.
"The advice is talk to the pharmacist or doctor if you are unsure."
Medical Director at NHS Berkshire, Dr David Buckle, said: "Everyone involved in prescribing, dispensing or reviewing medicines needs to make sure that patients are involved in making decisions about their treatment and that more medicines are taken as recommended.
“Unwanted drugs in the home may mean that patients are not getting the benefit they could be from their medicines. It also represents a large amount of waste.
"We want patients on repeat prescriptions to think about what they are ordering and only ask for what they need and are running out of."