Help to reduce medicines waste by only ordering what you need

The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) has today launched a new public awareness campaign highlighting the impact of medicines waste and are asking patients to check what medicines they have at home before ordering more.

More than six million medicine items costing nearly £3 million pounds are over ordered in LLR each year. Across the city and counties this includes inhalers, medication to thin your blood, and blood glucose testing strips, amongst others. To help reduce the amount of medicines over ordered and subsequently wasted the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) has teamed up with community pharmacies across the area, to share the important message: “Only order what you need”.

Dr Nil Sanganee, Chief Medical Officer at the NHS LLR ICB, said: “Reducing medicines waste is important because, at a time when the NHS is under unprecedented financial pressure, this money could be used to enhance patient care and provide other crucial treatments to our population.

“If you already have enough medicine at home, there is no need to order more every time. You will still be able to request your medicine again in future when you need it. We’d also strongly advise against stockpiling excess medication at home as it could expire before you’re able to use it. Taking expired medication could be harmful to your health by causing it not to work as intended.”

Patients are also encouraged to check in their bag when they collect their prescriptions, to see if there are items they don’t need. By doing this before leaving the pharmacy, medicines can be re-cycled or used for someone else. It is also not safe to share prescribed medication with anyone else, even if their symptoms seem to be similar to yours.

Rajshri Owen, Chief Officer for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Community Pharmacy said: “We are delighted to be helping to launch this new campaign across community pharmacies in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, working in partnership with the LLR Integrated Care Board. Our pharmacies will be engaging patients in conversation about their medicines when they collect prescriptions and sharing the campaign materials in pharmacies. This is a fantastic example of how community pharmacy can play a key role in supporting sustainability, safeguarding NHS resources, and improving patient care at the local level.”

The NHS App makes it easy to manage repeat prescriptions at any time. It will display medicines that people can request, and they simply just need to click on the items they need. They can also easily choose where to collect their prescriptions by changing their nominated pharmacy. 

Care home staff can also support the campaign by checking which medications their residents have and only requesting repeat prescriptions for the medicines required and not the whole prescription. Patients who are going into hospital for treatment are advised to bring all medication prescribed by their GP with them to avoid them having to be reordered.

Any out-of-date medicines can be returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal. making sure that waste medicines do not pollute our rivers and seas.

Further information on preventing medicines waste can be found at: https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/medicines-waste/.