THE NHS has launched a campaign urging people to help reduce prescription medicines waste across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West (BOB).
Medicinal waste is estimated to cost the NHS nationally around £300m each year and affects all parts of the country.
Around 640,000 litres of medicines waste was collected from community pharmacies across BOB over 12 months– from August last year to this July.
Dr Meenu Paul, clinical lead for Medicines Optimisation at Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West Integrated Care Board, said: “Everyone has a part to play to help reduce medicines waste.
“This can be done by checking what medicines you have at home before asking for more – even knowing the expiry date on items in your medicine cabinet can help reduce waste.
“Patients should also have regular discussions with their GP or pharmacist about their medication at their annual reviews.
“And when you collect your medicines, we urge you to check your bag of medicines for items you may not have ordered or don’t need because medicines cannot be reused once they have left a pharmacy.”
“I urge everyone to help the NHS to reduce medicines waste – together we can make a difference.”
Olivier Picard, a local community pharmacist who owns three pharmacies in Berkshire, said: “In each of my pharmacies we fill between fifteen to twenty 50 litre boxes of prescription medicines every three months, that have been returned by patients.
“These medicines may include tablets, capsules, inhalers, and creams that are no longer needed, have expired or were never used by patients and have to be destroyed – which is a waste of NHS money.
“Our advice to patients is to only order what you need.”
He explained: “When unused medicines build up in the home this can also create a safety risk, so we encourage patients to store medicines in a locked cabinet, where possible, and out of reach of children and even pets.
“Medicines waste affects the environment too, if patients need to dispose of any unused or out of date medication these should be taken to a local pharmacy for appropriate, safe disposal.”
