Medicines waste
If you have enough medicine at home, there’s no need to order now – you can request more in future.
Pharmacy teams and GPs in Surrey Heartlands are asking people to only order the medicines they need. Unused medicines cost the NHS around £300 million every year and a large amount of medicine items are wasted. We need your help to reduce this.
When medicines are wasted, they can’t be reused or recycled, and this adds to pollution and harms wildlife. It also means that valuable NHS resources are being wasted.
It is really important to check what medicines you have at home ordering. Before placing a prescription ask yourself do you really need to order the medicines.
How you can play your part
Stay well
- Unused medicines go out of date and might not work as intended, meaning your care might be compromised.
- Stockpiling medicines worsens drug shortages.
Stay safe
- Stockpiles of medicines kept at home can be dangerous for children and pets.
- Medicines are only prescribed for you. It is not safe to share prescribed medicines with anyone else.
Stay green
- Dispose of medicines properly, by handing them in to your pharmacy.
- Help to make sure that medicines do not pollute our rivers and seas.
- Only ordering what you need means that you are helping the environment. Once medicines have left the pharmacy, they cannot be recycled or used by anyone else.
Check what medicines you have at home
Only ask for the medicines you need this time. Repeat items stay on your prescription even if you don’t order them every month.
Try keeping all medicines in one safe place at home. You can see what you have left and what you need to reorder.
For each prescription, take medicine from one pill packet at a time. 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 medicines 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.
Collecting prescriptions from the pharmacy
Check your prescription bag before you leave the pharmacy. Make sure that there’s nothing extra that you don’t need in there.
If you return an item before you leave the pharmacy, the medicines can be reused.
If you have a stay in hospital
Always keep a list of your medicines, the doses, and how you take them.
Take all your medicines with you. The hospital won’t need to dispense more of the same medication. That can speed up your care.
When it’s time to go home take the right medicines with you. Before you leave ask if any changes have been made to your medicines and take home what is still suitable.
Talk to your pharmacist
Let your pharmacy team know if you’ve stopped taking any of your medicines. Also tell them or if any medicines are no longer right for you.
Speak to your pharmacy team if you have questions about your prescription.
Unused or out of date medicines and inhalers should always be returned to your pharmacy for safe disposal.