Unused medicines

I think the problem is, pharmacies or charities don't know if medicines have been kept at the correct temperature and have to err on the side of caution.

It’s an awful waste isn’t it, but you can’t guarantee that the packaging is intact without it taking a lot of time (that people don’t have) to check it all. I imagine the Pharmacies would be swamped.

I was put onto a course of inhalers last September, that I couldn’t get on with and so was prescribed a different type, so I now have 8 packs of the things that I can’t use, due to a mix up they gave me 6 months worth and as I didn’t collect it in person they were all brought home.

They must be worth a fortune.

Ask your local pharmacy but I think the task which takes up their time is removing pills from individual sachets so maybe if you did that job for them and had all of the drugs in a bag that would make life easier for them.

There is a Charity

Inter Care I+ Medical Aid for Africa, which collects in date unused products from GP surgeries in the U.K. , but I don’t know any surgeries that do this, ours doesn’t.

A year ago I gave a large bag of unopened sealed medicines that my husband was prescribed before he died to a local funeral directors who was doing regular trips to the Ukraine.
They said the hospitals and doctors were massively grateful for all the drugs they could get.

1summer

A year ago I gave a large bag of unopened sealed medicines that my husband was prescribed before he died to a local funeral directors who was doing regular trips to the Ukraine.
They said the hospitals and doctors were massively grateful for all the drugs they could get.

This sounds hopeful! I imagine that I'm more likely to find small groups rather than major charities doing this. Thanks 1summer.

It’s difficult, as we all want to have enough medications to avoid ‘running out’ if there were a shortage or similar, but this thread makes you realise how much waste must happen within the NHS.

When you see people leaving the pharmacy with a carrier bag full of different tablets etc, you sometimes wonder if it all gets used.

A few years ago I collected medication from a local pharmacy, when I opened the pack there was a needle and thread in one of the blister packs and one tablet missing. That pharmacy obviously did re use returns.

It’s such a waste, isn’t it. Meds were still being delivered here on the morning DH died - packs of phials for his driver, etc This was during Covid, so it was months before I could dispose of them at the local pharmacy.
It good to hear that there’s now the possibility of ‘leftovers’ being put to good use.

Don’t get excited I don’t think there are any ways now there certainly was before lockdown but I think rules have changed and become tightened up and it’s understandable if you don’t know what condition something has been kept in it’s not really fair it could make matters worse We used to send meds to Syria but I don’t think you can I suppose it’s different if you know someone going and can take privately but not sure if you’d get through customs with a big bag full of meds

It doesn’t Calendargirl. As I’ve mentioned before my friend is a true hyperchondriac and gets bags and bags of meds every month, a lot of which she doesn’t use.
I know it’s unwise to use another person’s meds, so I’ll be behind the sofa - but at Christmas, an old skin condition flared up and I mentioned to her that I’d have to get some steroid cream - she gave me 2 unopened tubes, still well in date, (same brand and strength as I’d have asked for) and said she had more upstairs, should I need it!

She might think twice about her meds Georgesgran if she was having to pay towards the cost.

I should think actually having to pay upfront might focus her mind more on what she actually needs.

I m afraid I d be very unpopular as I would have had to tell her she’s being unreasonable and it needs reporting it’s awful that people have got drawers and drawers full of unneeded meds

I am sorry to read of your loss choughdancer and I do hope you manage to locate somewhere to donate your late Mums unused medication. It would be a shame to have to throw them away.

One of the reasons that so many medicines get stockpiled by patients is the way the prescriptions are 'on repeat'. I use Systmone to request my meds and I only request what I need - that way I don't end up with a cupboard full of inhalers and strong pain relief, both of which I fortunately don't have to use frequently.
Naturally, not everyone has this same access and are just signed up to a Pharmacy who issues everything on the list regardless. Add this to the fact that not everyone takes their meds as they are prescribed to and the unused pile simply grows. What a waste of NHS money.

If my dh orders medicine negotiate he has finished his last tablets he gets a message to say it’s too early and he must wait, which I think is a good thing.

My friend is on so many different medications. She often goes to pharmacy and finds they have a prescription made up for drugs she doesnt take any more. She refused to accept them they told her they couldnt now use the made up prescription for anyone else all in sealed blister packs??? Can this be true? Does anyone know? She hadnt even touched the paper bag containing said drugs. Took ages to rectify over prescribing issue - drugs were hospital consultant requests originally.

I used to have HRT patches and was given some that were out of date. Then I noticed that someone had written days on them!
I wouldn’t have minded if they were in date.

Oh, believe me, I totally agree with all the criticism of my friend. The problem is her hyperchondria, so she’s convinced she’s ill. She keeps a daily diary of her ‘symptoms’ and speaks to the Practice Nurse every week - to keep her in the loop!
She had her previous surgery prescribing all sorts and sending her off to different hospitals for unnecessary tests.
When she moved house and got new GPs, I sincerely hoped they would pick up on the hyperchondria, but no - they’ve continued in the same vein! It really exasperates me, but I wonder if both surgeries have made a decision to give in and not challenge her demands?
I try and change the subject when she starts on another long tale about her health and she knows that I’m very much a Doctor Dodger, unless I’m desperate!

Most of the items are the 'just in case' medicines they supply when someone is coming to the end of their days. Mum only needed one of them, so all the rest were unused.

I can understand why this happens, as it means having the vials ready when the out of hours palliative team come out to the patient. They are drugs for nausea, agitation, pain and noisy breathing, and it is reassuring to know you have them. Mum had periods of severe agitation in the night on several occasions, so was given injections of the one prescribed for that. None of the others were needed, and I think they must be quite expensive.

I ordered Mum's repeat prescriptions for her over the last couple of years, so was able to make sure we didn't over order. In the past I've had changes in the type of insulin I am prescribed, and so often had vials or cartridges left over. There used to be an organisation who took these and sent them to (presumably hospitals or health services) in poorer countries. They no longer operate due (I think) to new rules. I know that insulin is very expensive and out of the reach of many people in the world; it just seemed awful to waste it.

Thank you Knitandnatter! I felt very lucky spending the last weeks of Mum's life with her and ensuring that she was comfortable and loved.

I'm shocked by what you say about pharmacies just issuing everything on the list regardless! With the NHS struggling it seems dreadful that this elephant in the room exists. I use the NHS app and just order (and receive!) only what I need.

I have £1000 of biologics, which need to be destroyed. They are, prescribed by the hospital and brought by courier. I tried to stop the delivery, because I could no longer tolerate them and they were making me very unwell. However, the online supplier said they couldn't stop the delivery without the hospital informing them, despite being told by my consultant to stop them immediately.
The waste is criminal.
I have now been told I need to destroy them myself and put the spent syringes in a sharps bin.
However, they won't collect the sharps bin, because I am no longer on their system.

The thing about donating medications is that some have to be kept in certain temperatures, otherwise changes can take place.

A couple of years ago, almost three now, there were collections for Ukraine, and someone else mentioned Syria. Hope a GN comes on here soon with info about new destinations.

Take to a pharmacy they are sent to be incinerated. Some medicines might not be in correct boxes or out of date so can't be sent abroad

I am sorry for your loss.

I belong to a crafting group in Reading which sends aid to Ukraine. Medicines in date are within what we can send and it saves waste.