Medicines waste is medicines that cannot be used, this may be because the medicine is expired, damaged or is no longer required for treatment.
It is estimated that 1 in 10 medicines in Scotland are wasted, and unused medicines cost the NHS approximately £300m per year. Not only does it cost the NHS the price of the unused medicine, but also the cost of the consultation with a healthcare professional and of preparing the prescription.
Medicines can be wasted when:
- They are not taken as prescribed
- People stockpile medicines, which may then go out of date or no longer be needed if treatment changes
- Medicines are ordered when people don’t need them
- Prescription bags are not checked before leaving the pharmacy – once the medicine has left the pharmacy it cannot be reused
How can you help to reduce medicines waste?
- Only order the medicines that you need – check when medicines you have left before re-ordering them and only tick the medicines on your repeat list that you need
- Check your repeat list is up to date – let your GP practice know if it needs updated
- Open your prescription bag before you leave the pharmacy – return any medicines you don’t need to the pharmacy staff before you leave the pharmacy so they can be reused
- Speak to your GP or pharmacist if you have questions or concerns regarding your medicines – do not stop taking a medicine without talking to a healthcare professional first
- Take your medicine into hospital with you – this avoids us supplying you with unnecessary duplicates of your medicine and means you will be less likely to have delayed or missed doses of your medicine in hospital
If you get serial prescriptions and find you have too much of your medicines at home, you can ask your community pharmacy to delay your next prescription until you need more of your medicine. This helps you to avoid stockpiling medicines at home. Stockpiling can lead to medicines waste if they expire or your treatment changes, and can be dangerous if you have children or pets at home.
Take any unused or expired medicines to your community pharmacy so they can safely be disposed of. This includes medicines such as tablets, eye drops, inhalers, creams, liquids, sprays etc. It can also include medicines that you have bought yourself, such as from the pharmacy or supermarket. You can take your unused medicine to any community pharmacy, regardless of where you were supplied or purchased it from.
Do not flush your medicines down the toilet or put them in a household bin. This can cause your medicines to end up in landfill, which can be damaging to the environment and harmful to wildlife. It is also important that you do not share your medicines with other people.
Green bag scheme
Pharmacies and GPs can supply you with a green bag to take your medicines into hospital with you. You should take all medicines including tablets, inhalers, eye drops, patches, sprays, creams etc. You should also take any medicines you purchase from the pharmacy, supermarket or internet.
Ideally, take your medicines into hospital in their original packs, with the pharmacy label on the boxes. If you use a dosette box (pill organiser) you should take this into hospital with you.
Taking a green bag of all your medicines into hospital means staff are aware of all the medicines you normally take at home and reduces the risk of doses of your medicines being delayed or missed in hospital as they may be used as part of your treatment. It also can reduce medicines waste as it prevents the unnecessary resupply of your medicines.