Share to ClassroomPharmacists Say Wasted Medicine Costs Millions
A pharmacy group says England throws away a huge amount of medicine. The National Pharmacy Association says 3,400 tonnes of partly used medicine were thrown away in one year. That is enough to fill about 75 Olympic-size swimming pools. The waste costs the NHS (the National Health Service) at least 480 million pounds a year.
A safety rule is one reason for the problem. After a pharmacy gives a medicine to a patient, it cannot use it again. This is true even if the box is still closed. Unused medicine must be destroyed in a special way, not thrown in normal rubbish. Pharmacists say people often order more medicine than they need, and many people stop taking their treatment before the end.
Olivier Picard, the head of the group, said this money could pay for better services for patients. He asked people to order medicine only when they are sure they will use it. He also wants doctors to check patients' medicine more often. One expert warned that old antibiotics kept at home are dangerous, because people take them later without asking a doctor.
