Waste of Pills

Not sure where to put this.
The NHS is always saying it is short of money yet they waste so much with unused drugs. I have recently changed pharmacies, my new one prepares all my meds. in little compartments of time and date but they delivered them before I had finished my meds from the previous month, so I am left with a lot of pills I dont need,such a waste.
Another waste is pills prescribed when you dont need them, if you stop ordring them because you already have enough they are taken off your repeat prescription and you have a difficult job getting them put back on again

Re: Waste of Pills

Good point I also worry a big about epipens and allergy medications, I have steroids, anti histamines and two epipens they last a year. If I haven't had a reaction they are thrown away ! The epipens cost over £100 each !

Re: Waste of Pills

I know what you mean Deylon. When my medication changes either up or down doseage wise, I've still unopened packets of the previous doseage (I get 3 months worth each time).

The pharmacy can't take them back and so they go down the loo. I assumed it's because someone might have 'tainted' or done something to the pills if they have been in someone elses possession, so therefore they could make someone else poorly.

Must ask sometime.

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Please don't flush medication if can affect wildlife and even us humans who drink the water ! Pharmacy must take back unused medications they dispose of it safely.

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Oh hec Julie, thanks, never thought about that

To clarify, when I said about they can't take them back, I meant they can't take them back to re-prescribe them to someone else.

Edited. Sorry, I should have been more specific, I always assume people know my thought patterns

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Because my medication is changed on a fairly regular basis I often have unopened foil packed pills which I return to the pharmacist for destruction. I feel this is such a terrible waste of what are often expensive drugs. I am told that they cannot be put back into stock after they have left the premises, but why Oh why cannot they not be sent to Third World countries where there is a desperate shortage of medicines.

Recently I had an excess of a particular brand of stoma bags when I changed to another make. I did find however that there was an appeal for stoma supplies in Syria, so packed them up and sent them off to the organisers. Far better than consigning them to the bin when my Colostomy Nurse told me that she was not allowed to take them. For heavens sake, it was not as if it was something people had to swallow.

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Today the Dr reduced some of Mr Ms medication by half. The pharmacist ordered new pills even though we have two packs of the others which are easily split in half.

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This is true. My meds usually have written on them to return all unused medication to the pharmacy for disposal.

In fact, the daftest thing happened to me quite recently.
I have 'dry eye' and need eye drops to stop my eyes getting scratchy and sore.
One day after I had collected my prescription, as I walked across the pharmacy car park, I noticed they had made a mistake, so turned round and went back in the shop.

To my amazement, when he took the meds back, he said they would have to be thrown away now.

"Why"? I asked. "You know you only gave them to me 2 minutes ago." I hadn't even got home with them, in fact I hadn't even got to he car with them, and they certainly hadn't been opened!

He said it didn't matter. Once they left his shop if they came back he had to dispose of them.

What a wicked waste of money.
I wonder how many times a day they throw brand new, unopened medicines away!

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Is it wrong to wrap unwanted pills up into a tight parcel & put them in the dustbin?

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That's probably not the best idea Carol

Here, have a look at this I found. It's about our medicines.

http://blog.lloydspharmacy.com/healt...sal-medicines/