People urged to help cut £13.3m medicine waste

NHS bosses in Coventry and Warwickshire are urging people to only order the medicines they need as they claim wasted medication is costing about £13.3m a year in the county.

They have begun a new campaign to try to cut the number prescribed unnecessarily on repeat prescriptions - and say about 1.6 million items are wasted annually.

"The main way people can play their part is by checking the medicines they have at home when they order their repeat prescriptions and only order what they need," a spokesperson for the area's Integrated Care Board (ICB) said.

They also urged people to give any unused medicines to a pharmacist so they do not end up polluting rivers and waterways.

The ICB spokesperson added that many people believed they must keep ordering medicine to get it in the future but this was not true - and they could still order it again.

Residents can also help by checking prescription bags when they leave the pharmacy to make sure it contains nothing extra.

An item can be reused if is returned before it leaves the pharmacy, they added.

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