PATIENTS IN Tayside and Fife returned 60 tonnes of unused medicines to pharmacies in a year, new figures have shown.
The drugs could not be re-prescribed, even if their packaging had not been opened. Instead, they had to be incinerated at a cost of almost £70,000 across the two regions.
The scale of the problem was revealed following a freedom of information request by the Liberal Democrats.
Only 10 of Scotland’s 14 health boards responded but the partial data showed it cost the NHS more than half a million pounds to remove and destroy unused medicines returned to pharmacies.
NHS Tayside said it collected returned unused medicines, both prescription and non-prescription, from community pharmacies and incinerated them at a cost of £35,000.
“The quantity of returned medicines to pharmacies is approximately 42,000kg per year,” it said.
A statement for NHS Fife said its bill for getting rid of 19,000kg of medicines was £33,000.
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Jim Hume said: “Disposing of medicines which are returned unused to pharmacies cost our NHS over half a million pounds last year. But that staggering cost is only the tip of the iceberg.
“Our figures do not show the cost of the medicines that are being wasted, or the costs around prescribing them in the first place. Many people also throw out unused prescriptions rather than return them to the pharmacy.
“Across Scotland colossal amounts of medicines are being wasted.
“The NHS is facing some of its toughest tests yet with an ageing population and in future years the NHS is going to have to do more with less.
“We must all do our part to ensure that every penny is used effectively and that wastage is reduced where possible.
“NHS staff need to regularly review the medicines that a patient is on. This is a proactive measure which could cut costs and improve health by ensuring patients are receiving appropriate treatment.
“Patients can do their part by ensuring that they don’t take out repeat prescriptions and then not use them. This means visiting your GP if you’re unsure about the need for your repeat prescription.
“With taxpayers footing the bill, we should do what we can to reduce it.”
NHS Tayside’s campaign to discourage people from wasting medicine said the cost of its unused drugs was equal to the bill for carrying out more than 900 hip replacement operations.
grsmith@thecourier.co.uk