The most expensive medicine is the medicine you don’t take. That’s the message of a new campaign, through which NHS Norfolk aims to tackle the problem of wasted medication in the county.

The Medicine Waste campaign, which begins on Monday february 28th 2011 will see posters and leaflets displayed in pharmacies & GP surgeries across the county. They all have a simple message – urging patients to order only what they need.

Unused prescription medicines cost the NHS across the UK more than £300 million every year.

Medicine wastage is a serious and growing problem for the Health Service, and Norfolk is no exception. It is made worse when patients or their carers continue to request more repeat medicines than they really need and stockpile them at home. An example is the continuing ordering of as needed pain killers like paracetamol, when only small quantities are actually required

Ian Small, deputy head of prescribing and medicines management at NHS Norfolk, said: “This wastes millions of pounds – in our area it is nearly £5 million a year – and huge quantities of medicines.

“To help you get the best from your medicines, ask your pharmacist for advice. Out-of-date prescription drugs should not be taken as their effectiveness will have diminished over time, and they will no longer provide effective treatment for the condition for which they were intended. Taking drugs long after they were originally prescribed can also be dangerous.”

He added: “Unused medicines kept at home are a safety risk for children and others who might take them. Even if you never open them, once medicines have left the pharmacy they cannot be recycled or used by anyone else and must be destroyed.

“Your medicines are prescribed for you – it is not safe to share them. Please take your unused medicines to the pharmacy for safe disposal.”

Unused prescription medicines cost NHS Norfolk up to £4.8 million every year.

This is the equivalent of about:

* 1,294 more hip replacements
or
* 1,621 more knee replacements
or
* 316 more drug treatment courses for breast cancer
or
* 4,800 more drug treatment courses for Alzheimer’s
or
* 188 more community nurses

The £4.8m worth of wasted medicine comes from a total medicines budget for NHS Norfolk of about £120m per year. Therefore, Norfolk patients throw away about £1 in every £23 that is spent on prescribed medicines.

The £4.8m figure only represents medicines handed back to pharmacies, not those taken back to hospital units for disposal or thrown away at home. It also does not include the cost to the NHS of having to dispose of these medicines properly.

Medicines which tend to be wasted more often are preventative medicines, such as those for high blood pressure, osteoporosis and asthma inhalers. Painkillers and drugs for depression are also often thrown away.

NHS Norfolk has compiled the following checklist, to encourage patients to order only what they need:

* Let your GP or pharmacist know if you’ve stopped taking any of your medicines

* Check what medicines you still have at home before re-ordering

* Discuss your medication with your pharmacist or GP on a regular basis

* You may be suitable for batch prescribing, known as repeat dispensing – please ask your GP or pharmacist

* Think carefully before ordering your repeat prescription. If you don’t need the medicine, don’t order it! If you need the medicine in the future you can still request it

* If you need to go into hospital, please take all your medicines with you

Ian added: “We certainly do not want patients to stop taking medicines that their doctors have prescribed, but we would like them to check what they have in their cupboards before ordering all the items on their repeat prescriptions.”

For more details on the campaign, visit: www.medicinewaste.com