Coventry and Warwickshire residents encouraged to ‘only order what they need’ when ordering their repeat prescriptions

The NHS in Coventry and Warwickshire have launched a new medicine waste campaign which is aiming to reduce the number of medicines that are prescribed unnecessarily on repeat prescriptions.

It is estimated that approximately 1.6 million items of medicines are wasted unnecessarily in Coventry and Warwickshire each year. In an effort to reduce this number, the NHS is encouraging people to ‘only order what you need’ and to ‘Stay Well, Stay Safe, and Stay Green’.

There are lots of things people can do to tackle medicines waste. The main way people can play their part is by checking the medicines they have at home when they order their repeat prescriptions and only order what they need.

Many people believe that if they don’t order a medication, they will not be able to order it in future. However, this isn’t true. They will still be able to order the other medications again in the future.

In addition, by checking the medication they have at home, people can:

• Stay well – Unused medicines expire and might not work as we want them to. Keeping big stocks of medicines at home can also make drug shortages worse.
• Stay Safe – Having big stocks of medicines at home be a danger to pets and children. People are also being reminded that medicines are only prescribed for them and should not be shared.
• Stay green – The best way to manage medicines waste is to give them to a pharmacist, this stops them polluting rivers and waterways. Medicines also cannot be recycled or used by anyone else once they have left the pharmacy.

People are also being asked to check their prescription bag when leaving the pharmacy to make sure they only have what they need and that there’s nothing extra in the bag. If an item is returned before it leaves the pharmacy, it can be reused.

If someone has stopped taking any medications or they are no longer right for them, they are being encouraged to discuss this with a healthcare professional so they can make sure they are getting the medication they need.

The cost of medicines waste is approximately £13.3m per year, or £1.1m per month. This is equivalent to:

• 2,300 knee replacements
• 39,000 rounds of chemotherapy
• 345,000 GP appointments
• 8,316,780kg of carbon dioxide emissions

So, by reducing the number of medicines that are prescribed unnecessarily, we can ensure this money can be directed elsewhere to improve NHS services.

Dr Imogen Staveley, local GP and Chief Medical Officer at NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB, said:

“Medication plays a vital role in keeping many people happy and healthy. However, in Coventry and Warwickshire it’s estimated that 1.6 million items are prescribed unnecessarily each year, which is equivalent to £13.3m.

“Stockpiling medicines can also be dangerous. Expired medicines might not work as intended and keeping lots of medicines at home could be a risk to children and pets if they managed to get access to them.

“That’s why we’re encouraging people who are on repeat prescriptions to only order what they need so we can reduce waste and keep them and their loved ones safe.”

To find out more about how people can support the campaign, please visit www.happyhealthylives.uk/yourmeds.