NHS tackles medication waste in Greater Manchester

Pharmacists and GPs across NHS Greater Manchester are urging people to 'only order the medication they need from their repeat prescriptions.'

The call comes as figures reveal that out of 67 million items dispensed in Greater Manchester during the 2023-2024 financial year, 75 per cent were repeat prescriptions, many of which were 'unused and wasted unnecessarily.'

These prescriptions amounted to a total cost of £570 million.

NHS Greater Manchester, in collaboration with NHS England, NHS North West, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria, are spearheading the new campaign to 'reduce waste and save money.'

Kenny Li, chief pharmacist at NHS Greater Manchester, said: "We want to remind everyone how important it is to check what medicines they have at home before placing their repeat prescription order.

"We know that a significant amount of these repeat prescription medicines are not used and returned to pharmacies for destruction – and that ordering unnecessary medication can increase the risk of medicine shortages in pharmacies.

"We want to make sure essential medications are available to those who need them the most, which is why, with the support of our communities, we hope that we can make a difference and improve the number of unused medicines."

“For example, during the last financial year alone, 31.5 million items were ordered by residents 65 and over in Primary Care, dispensed at an average of £7.54 per item – amounting to a total cost of £237.7 million.

"Simply by reducing the number of unnecessary items ordered by 2 per cent it would result in a reduction of 630,000 items and save NHS Greater Manchester approximately £4.75 million."

Practical tips for managing prescriptions include ordering only the necessary medication, keeping all medication in one safe place to track usage, and making a note on the calendar a week before the prescription due date to assess what is left.

If you have questions about your prescription medicines, or those of a family member or person you provide care for, community pharmacy teams can help.

Unused or out-of-date medicines can be returned to your pharmacy for 'safe disposal.'

As well as encouraging the people of Greater Manchester to check before ordering prescriptions, other initiatives have been put in place to help reduce the waste of medication.

A Greater Manchester system working group has been meeting to support a 'consistent approach' to patient-led ordering of medicines in areas where it has not been adopted yet.

The group is supporting general practices across the city-region to promote the use of the NHS app to 'empower' patients to order repeat prescriptions, access their prospective medical records and, where available, make routine appointments.

Karen O’Brien, MBE, regional chief pharmacist, NHS England - North West, said: "I am delighted to be working with each Integrated Care Board in the North West on this really important work to raise awareness of the amount of medication that is wasted every year.

"I also want to reassure people that your GP will continue to prescribe medication for as long as you clinically need it, but if you aren’t due to run out, you don’t need to over-order, that medicine will be there for you when you need it."

The NHS is also encouraging people to take their medication into hospital should they be admitted, whether it’s planned or unplanned.

This helps staff in hospital to have a complete record of medicines and means the hospital won’t need to dispense more of the same medication and can speed up care.

For more information on the campaign, visit the NHS Greater Manchester website.