Think carefully about prescription wastage
Last week I attended the launch of a campaign to raise awareness about the problem of wasted medicines and prescription drugs.
So much money can be saved each year if prescription drug waste can be curbed.
The campaign hopes to encourage patients and carers only to order the prescription drugs they need, and to think carefully before ordering repeat prescriptions they may not need.
The launch was also attended by Crofton, Walton and Ryhill councillor Maureen Cummings, the medicines waste management team from Wakefield Primary Care Trust, and the staff at Crofton Medical Centre.
Sometimes, patients or carers with repeat prescriptions continue to get more medicines than they need and stockpile them at home. This waste of prescription drugs is a growing problem that not only wastes huge quantities of medicines but costs the NHS millions of pounds every year.
Many people automatically order every drug on their repeat prescription even though many of these drugs are never used. In a recent case an elderly lady was found to have around 500 worth of unused drugs in her home.
There are many problems caused by unused prescription medicines. For a start, they cost Wakefield Council more than 15,000 every year to dispose of in the correct way. The reason for such costs is prescription drugs need to be disposed of safely – for people and for the environment. This is obviously a great deal of money the council could otherwise be spending on facilities and services for local people.
In the past I have been contacted by constituents who have been concerned that their unopened prescription drugs, and those of others, cannot be recycled.
Unfortunately, for safety reasons, even if you have not opened them, once medicines have left the pharmacy they cannot be recycled or used by others.
The only solution for the problem is to take the unused medicines back to the pharmacy for safe disposal. A further problem with drugs waste is the danger of leaving medicines in places where children may accidentally get hold of them. Having large quantities of unused medicines at home could put children and other vulnerable people at risk.
There are several ways in which you can help solve this problem. You should always let your GP or pharmacist know if you have stopped taking any of your medicines, and discuss your medication with them on a regular basis.
If you think you might not need to continue taking a particular form of medication, then you should ensure that you are reassessed by your doctor. Before re-ordering medicines you should check what you have at home.
Finally, you should always think carefully before ticking all the boxes on your repeat prescription forms and only tick those you really need. If we all follow these steps then hopefully we will reduce some of this waste. If you have any further comments about prescription drug waste, please e-mail me at jtrickett @jontrickett.org.uk
You can find out about the campaign by visiting www.jontrickett.org.uk
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Wakefield
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
