Introduction
Report of research undertaken in 2009 by the York Health Economics Consortium and the School of Pharmacy, University of London, indicate that the gross annual cost of NHS primary and community care prescription medicines wastage in England is currently in the order of £300 million per year.
This sum represents approximately £1 in every £25 spent on primary care and community pharmaceutical and allied products use, and 0.3 per cent of total NHS outlays. It includes an estimated:
GP Practice Waste Campaign
The aims of a waste campaign should be to:
To support practices with medicines waste, the medicines management team have put together a list of resources and suggestions. Practices are free to use the following resources to update or supplement existing materials.
Posters/displays
Patient leaflets
Messages on repeat prescriptions