Campaign to cut medicine wastage

Wasted medication is costing the NHS in the North West over £40 million every year - including £1.5 million in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale - local health chiefs have revealed.

In Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust, this money could pay for:

• 300 more hip replacements or;
• 210 more heart by-pass operations or;
• 2,100 more cataract operations or;
• 45 more community nurses or;
• 270 more knee replacements.

In a bid to save money to pay for other services, GPs and pharmacists across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale have joined together to launch a major new campaign to tackle the problem.

One of the main concerns is medicines on repeat prescriptions, which are ordered and collected by patients but are not needed because they have stopped using the drugs.

These unwanted medicines are the target of this new campaign which will help Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust to save money and improve healthcare.

People with repeat prescriptions will be reminded to only order what they need. Once medicines have been dispensed they cannot be recycled and have to be thrown away – whether they’ve been used or not.

Patients are also being encouraged to have a regular review of their medicines with their pharmacist or prescribing doctor to discuss any issues they may have with their drugs.

Another focus of the campaign is to raise awareness of the dangers of having unused medicines lying around at home. This may be a significant danger, particularly if there are young children present.

Pina Renzulli, Medicines Management Technician at Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust says: “We are constantly looking at ways to deliver better and more effective patient care.  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.

"Wasted medicines means wasted money.  It can't be used again and if we could save some of that money we could reinvest it in other areas of healthcare to benefit the local community.”

Michael Johnson, Community Pharmacist in Heywood, says: “There are a number of reasons why medicines are going to waste, including patients no longer needing the drugs, but others may also be put at risk if unwanted drugs are left in the home.

"If anyone has any unused medicines at home we're encouraging them to take them back to the pharmacy for safe disposal and have a chat with the pharmacist or prescribing GP about their medication and how to use them more effectively."

Posters will be displayed on buses and bus shelters across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale over the next four weeks and thousands of posters and leaflets will also be distributed to GP surgeries and pharmacies.  Inserts have also been produced to go into prescription bags in pharmacies.

The campaign, which runs throughout November and December, will encourage people not to stockpile medicines, only to order what is needed and to take all prescription medicines with them if they are going to hospital.

Anyone with unwanted medicines can return them to their local pharmacy or prescribing practice where they will be disposed of safely.