Help reduce medication waste and support the NHS across Cheshire and Merseyside
Pharmacists and GPs across Cheshire and Merseyside are urging people to only order the medication they need from their repeat prescriptions.
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.
- 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.
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 Unused or out of date medicines and inhalers should always be returned to your pharmacy for safe disposal.