At least 523 tonnes of medicines wasted each year
Medicines waste figures may only be the tip of the iceberg |
Just over 523 tonnes of unwanted medicines were returned to community pharmacies in England and Wales during 2002–03, according to new Government figures.
The total, which is only the tip of the iceberg, comes from figures reported
by primary care trusts and local health boards. Around one-third did
not submit figures and others had schemes in which not all local pharmacies
participated. It also relates only to medicines handed in to pharmacies
and not those disposed of in any other manner.
Alistair Buxton, head of NHS services at the Pharmaceutical Services
Negotiating Committee, said: “The medicines use review service
to be provided by community pharmacists under the new contract should
go some way to addressing the issue of waste. Repeat dispensing schemes,
once they are established, should help, too. In addition, we are discussing
how pharmacists can rationalise the quantities of medicines dispensed,
such as by synchronising
repeat prescriptions, and how pharmacists can be rewarded for not dispensing
unnecessary prescriptions.”
Pharmacists in the Republic of Ireland, for example, can claim a fee
of €2.74 (£1.87) for not dispensing a prescription after the “exercise
of professional judgement”. The fee is the same as the repeat dispensing
fee and slightly lower than the standard dispensing fee.
The figures on waste come from statistics on general pharmaceutical services
in England and Wales for the year 2002–03, published by the Department
of Health statistical division. At 31 March 2003, there were 10,452 pharmacies
holding contracts with local health bodies, 11 fewer than the previous
year. The trend to multiple ownership continues with a further 1 per
cent of pharmacies being part of chains of six or more, now 52 per cent
of the total. While the overall number of pharmacies has changed little,
independent ownership has fallen by nearly a third in 10 years.
Westminster Primary Care Trust, covering central London, continues to
be the outlier in terms of pharmacy numbers and prescription volumes.
While on average there are 202 pharmacies per million people in England
and Wales, Westminster’s 106 pharmacies represent a figure of 590
per million resident population. In addition, 145 of the 290 pharmacies
that failed to qualify for the professional allowance (because they dispensed
fewer than 1,100 items a month) are in London and 53 of those are in
Westminster.
In 1993–94, 49 per cent of pharmacies were dispensing more than 3,000 items
a month. In 2002–03, it was 74 per cent. Total prescription volume has
risen by 50 per cent in 10 years. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal