by IainBate
3. July 2012 12:01
NHS Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group has launched a new campaign to tackle medicines waste in the region.
Research found that more than £1m has been wasted on medication which has been left unused or stockpiled by residents in the town.
Dr Catherine Doyle, GP prescribing lead for Warrington, said patients should check around the home what medication they have before ordering repeat prescriptions.
Posters and leaflets will be distributed around GP surgeries and pharmacies in Warrington to help raise awareness of the issue.
A spokesperson for the CCG hoped the campaign would see patients working alongside healthcare professionals to address the problem.
“Once medicines have been prescribed and dispensed they cannot be recycled and have to be thrown away whether they’ve been used or not,” the spokesperson said.
“We hope to encourage people not to stockpile medicines and to only order what they need.”
The CCG estimates that around £300m is wasted across the country on unused medication annually.
Subscribe