Campaign to cut wasted prescriptions

A CAMPAIGN will be launched today aimed at cutting an estimated £44 million wasted on medicines across Scotland every year.

The Scottish Government spent more than 1 billion on prescribing in 2010, but it has been estimated that 40-50 per cent of patients do not take or use their medicines as prescribed.

The money wasted could potentially pay for 1,727 more community nurses, 2,904 more drug treatment courses for breast cancer, or 11,866 more hip replacements.

GPs and pharmacists in NHS Grampian, Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles have joined together in a bid to educate patients about their treatment and to help them understand more about their medicines.

One of the main concerns is repeat prescriptions, which are ordered and collected by patients, but in some cases are not used.

This could be because patients do not believe the medicine is necessary, fears over possible side effects, cutting down on medicines they have been taking for a long time or difficulty fitting taking medicines into daily routines.

The campaign will encourage patients to have regular reviews of their medicines with their pharmacist, or prescribing doctor, to discuss any issues they may have with taking their medication

Dr Caroline Hind, pharmacist facilitator for NHS Grampian, said: "Everyone involved in prescribing, dispensing or reviewing medicines needs to make sure that patients are involved in making decisions about their treatment and that more medicines are taken as recommended."

Janice Oman, National Pharmacy Association representation manager for Scotland, said: "Real value for money can only be achieved if the NHS supports patients to get more benefit from their medicines."