'wasted prescriptions'

cthornley

Have just been reading this....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13042794
wondered what anybody else felt about it

I understand that there is a need to reduce wastage but to blame patients is a bit simplistic

I have been that person who turns up with that carrier bag of meds at the pharmacy - was it because I couldn't be bothered to take them?, is it because i needlessly ticked the repeat box? No !!!! its because I have a complex and long term condition that has required a certain amount of trial and error
I have had meds cut short and interactions galore - each time i'm barely into a months supply

Limiting prescriptions to 28 days won't prevent this, or the problem with people just ticking the boxes for repeats (they'll just do it more often)
It will however make lives for people like me who try to juggle work with a long term condition a bit more difficult. I have never managed to use the repeat service properly or get a chemist to sort it because A. I have to confirm that i've had all my monitoring & B. they have got the ever changing meds constantly wrong & C if you don't know the practical joys of a pre payment certificate it just gets more expensive

Explaining to patients their medication and thoughtful prescribing would make so much more sense , make sure elderly people are monitored correctly and they have a regular medication audit, give a tester / shorter prescription on new meds and then up the repeat length with time if everythings ok....and audit people on lots on medication regularly - check they are taking it, check its working and if not work out why not

This would cut wastage and make people better in the long run but it'll never happen because it takes drs/ surgerys to use common sense and a small amount of time ( that would eventually be saved) - two things that apparently according to NHS management don't seem to be economical - I think because it doesn't take enough 'consultant advises' fees

sorry feeling bitter and annoyed that common sense seems to have gone out of the windows these days

Chrissie

Dottydoodah

This really does make me laugh (in a bad way)

My husband is a charge nurse in a prison. Every single day they have to throw unopened medications in the bin. Why? Because they are told that even though the seal has never been broken and not used in any way by the patient it would contravine the "rules"
Because prisoners there are constantly moved on or transferred this happens all the time.
I would suggest the NHS gets their own house in order before slapping the blame on patients!!

frogmorton

Same here Dotty

if we return our med to the pharmacy - even seal unbroken - they have to bin it.

As Chrissie says it is more to do with trial end error the waste l have caused and it has upset me as well and then all those poor people who dont have pre-pay!!!!! they PAID fdor the privelege of meds which do not work or they react to!!!!

Hmmmph Chrissie you are right

Love

Toni xx

tillytop

Hello Chrissie

Thanks for flagging this article. I agree too - the article seems to put the blame firmly on the patients which doesn't seem very fair. And the idea of putting the cost on the meds is, I feel insulting and not a little patronising. For those people who really do waste their meds, I don't think it would have any impact at all, and for the rest of us, well it would just make us feel very uncomfortable I think. I am sure there are some people who are irresponsible with their meds but I think the system could perhaps be managed a bit better (not sure how). My local Boots does have an audit procedure in place and I think it could be quite helpful to minimise some of the waste. However I do understand why they can't re-use unopened pills. Having worked for a company which provided pharmacy services I know just how tightly they are regulated and if something has been dispensed and then returned apparently unused, there is no surefire way to make sure it hasn't been tampered with in some way or perhaps stored in a way which would affect its effectiveness.

Food for thought though.

Tilly xxx