Help reduce medication waste and support the NHS across Cheshire and Merseyside
A report by the Department of Health estimates that unused medicines cost the NHS around £300 million every year and a large amount of medicine items are wasted unnecessarily in Cheshire and Merseyside each year. We need your help to reduce this.
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside along with NHS England - North West, NHS Greater Manchester and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria have launched a new campaign asking people to check their order to help reduce waste and save on cost.
Helen Murphy, Chief Officer of Halton St Helens and Knowsley Local Pharmaceutical Committee, said:
“We are asking our community to be conscientious about only ordering medication they need”.
Helen shares some tips on how everyone can to do this:
- Only order the medication if you need it - repeat items still remain on your prescription if you don’t order it every month.
- Try keeping all medication in one safe place at home, so you can see what you have left and what you need to reorder.
- For each prescription, take medication from one pill packet at a time, so that you can keep a track of what you’ve taken and what you have left
- Make a note on your calendar 7 to 10 days before your prescription due date, to go through your medication and see what is left. Being organised in this way means that if bank holidays or weekends are coming up, you will have planned enough for these dates too.
Helen adds: “It can be challenging organising medication, particularly if you need to take a lot of medication or you support someone to take their medication, but it is safer to organise and manage medication in this way.”
If you have questions about your prescription or need some support, speak to your pharmacy team. Unused or out of date medicines and inhalers should always be returned to your pharmacy for safe disposal.
To see the campaign and for more information visit: www.cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk/medicines-waste
