More than £15.2 million worth of medicine items are wasted unnecessarily in Lincolnshire each year, which is the equivalent to the cost of 417 nurses, according to NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, leading it to launch a new campaign ‘Medicines Waste’.
The shocking figure is based on the wastage of approximately 2.1 million medicine items annually, which, in addition to the cost to the local NHS, also has significant repercussions for patient safety, drug supply chains, staff time and the environment.
“We know that as the NHS we need to get better at adjusting our prescriptions so only the right amount of medicine is offered. However, we are asking patients for their help with this because we know they often feel obliged to order everything on a repeat prescription slip even when they don’t need it, contributing unknowingly to medicines wastage.
“This is not a new problem, it is something that has been an issue for a long time, but the difference now is that we are better able to track prescribing trends, in terms of what is being prescribed, to who, and in what quantities,” comments Dr Sunil Hindocha, GP and Medical Director, NHS Lincolnshire ICB.
“There are a number of incentives for us to address the issue of waste medicines, not least of which is cost during a time when our budgets, whilst increasing year on year, are under ever increasing pressure.”
The main purpose of the ICB’s new ‘Medicines Waste’ campaign will be to reduce the number of unnecessary medicines ordered off a repeat prescription by raising awareness of this issue, primarily amongst Lincolnshire residents aged 65 and over, and through encouraging people to only order necessary prescriptions.
“The campaign will focus on this group because we know they are the people with the highest number of repeat prescriptions. To be clear, we are not saying people cannot have their repeat prescriptions, rather we are asking everyone to check whether they need to order more or whether you have a sufficient supply already,” adds Sunil.
Although people can return over-ordered/unnecessary medicines to their GP practice, these cannot be reissued and have to be destroyed.
“As a practising GP I will only ever prescribe a patient with something they need, but by ordering prescriptions when you don’t need them, you are contributing to the wastage of medicines. Although medicines can be returned to us, many people don’t realise that they cannot then be reissued to someone else.
“So our message is clear – check your current supplies before you re-order and then only order the medicines you need. And if you have questions about adjusting your prescription orders, you can speak with your pharmacy team or your GP, either of who will be happy to help,” concludes Sunil.
Find out more at Medicines waste – Lincolnshire ICB.