Wasted medication is costing the NHS in Derbyshire over £7m every year, say local health chiefs - enough to pay for 210 more community nurses. Now patients throughout the area who have repeat prescriptions are being told: "Order only what you need, don't stockpile medicines and take all prescription medicines with you if you are going in to hospital." The move comes as Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust (PCT) launched its campaign this week under which GPs, pharmacists and chemists throughout the county - including Swadlincote, Hilton, Etwall, Repton, Willington and Findern - join together to try and cut medicine wastage. Nationally, the Department of Health estimates up to £800m worth of drugs are wasted each year in primary care. A spokesman for the PCT said that the 'wasted' £7m in Derbyshire could pay for: *1,400 more hip replacements or; *980 more heart bypass operations or; *9,800 more cataract operations or; *1,260 more knee replacements. The campaign is targeting those medicines on repeat prescriptions which are ordered and collected by patients - but are not needed because they have stopped using the drugs. Once medicines have been dispensed they cannot be recycled and have to be thrown away - whether or not they have been used. Patients are also being encouraged to have regular reviews of their medicines with their pharmacist or prescribing doctor to discuss any issues they may have with their drugs. Alan Meakin, medical director at Derbyshire County PCT, said: "Unwanted drugs in the home may mean that patients are not getting the benefit they could be from their medicines. It also represents a large amount of waste. Wasted medicines means wasted money. It can't be used again and if we could save some of that money we could reinvest it in other areas of healthcare to benefit the local community." Steve Hulme, assistant director of medicines management, told the Trader of some of the ways drugs are being wasted. He said: "Sometimes patients or their carers reorder medicines without realising they don't need them. Then there are some patients who are worried about upsetting their doctors if they feel the medicine is not working or they are getting side effects. Medicines some times do not get used because of problems opening the package. The important message is not to feel embarassed. If the medicine is not working well, go back to your doctor". Over 80 per cent of the population does not pay for prescriptions. Mr Hulme added: "If you don't pay you don't realise just how much some medicines can cost. "Then there are people who have medicines in reserve 'just in case'. This is not a good idea, especially if you have children or grandchildren running around." Stephanie Biggs, community pharmacist, said: "If anyone has any unused medicines at home we're encouraging them to take them back to the pharmacy (or dispensing practice) for safe disposal and have a chat with the pharmacist or GP about their medication and how to use their drugs more effectively." As part of the hard-hitting campaign to save money, posters are being displayed on buses across Derbyshire and thousands more, as well as leaflets are being distributed to GP surgeries and pharmacies. | 
