Are your medicines stacking up? Only order what you need …
To help tackle this issue, the local NHS medicines optimisation team has been working closely with local pharmacies and GP practices to raise awareness and encourage patients to have their medication reviewed.
They are also launching a region-wide campaign to ask the public to ‘only order what they need’ when requesting medicines and to follow a few simple steps:
- Only order what you need - check what medicines you have at home before you place an order.
- Hand back - when you collect your medicines from your local pharmacy, make sure that you only have what you need. If you return an item before you leave the pharmacy, it can be reused.
- Stick to your routine - by ordering your medication when you are running low, and no earlier.
By taking these simple steps, they can ensure patients receive the right medicines and care, reduce waste, and make better use of NHS resources - helping to improve healthcare across our region.
Not only that but it is safer too. Holding onto medication can also lead to mistakes about what to take and when, especially if your prescription changes.
As well as this the NHS are reminding people to speak to their pharmacist or GP if they have any concerns about their medicines or need advice.
Our 'only order what you need' campaign is part of the wider 'are your medicines working for you' initiative.
