Help Us To Reduce Medicine Waste

Unused prescription medicines cost the NHS across the UK over £300 million every year.

£300 million 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*
  • 300,000 more drug treatment courses for Alzheimer’s*

*Based on average costs

To help reduce medicine waste, you can:

  • Let your GP or pharmacist know if you’ve stopped taking any of your medicines
  • Check what medicines you still have at home before reordering
  • Discuss your medication with your GP or pharmacist on a regular basis
  • Think carefully before ticking all the boxes on your repeat prescription forms and only tick those you really need
  • If you don’t need the medicine, don’t order it. If you need the medicine in the future you can still request it
  • If you need to go into hospital, remember to take all your medicines with you in a clearly marked bag
  • Remember that your medicines are prescribed only for you. It’s not safe to share them with anyone else