MEDICINES: Waste can be very costly

I am writing to thank people who have been participating in the Wasted Medicines campaign during the last few months, and to remind everyone that unused medicines cannot be recycled, even if you never open them.

Once medicines have left the pharmacy they cannot be recycled or used by anyone else.

Please take your unused medicines to a pharmacy for safe disposal.

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Never dispose of your unused or unwanted medicines down the toilet.

There are discussions about how the NHS could save money.

Unused prescription medicines cost the NHS, across the UK, more than £300million every year.

Based on average costs, £300million could pay for 80,906 more hip replacements, 101,351 more knee replacements, 19,799 more drug treatment courses for breast cancer, 11,778 more community nurses and 300,000 more drug treatment courses for Alzheimer’s.

As individual patients, we are not powerless. We can get much more involved in our own care and that of those close to us.

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If you have a little time to spare to devote to the health of our local communities, please consider joining the Patient Participation Group attached to your local GP practice.

Kelvin Rushworth,

Chairman Bondgate Patient Participation Group