To ask the Minister of Health, pursuant to AQW 10174/22-27, what action his Department is taking to reduce the £18 million annual cost for wasted medicines.

I would like to assure the member that significant work is being taken forward by my Department to reduce the volume and cost of medicines wastage.

The Department is currently working closely with stakeholders and health service staff including GPs and Community Pharmacists to develop a new ‘Valuing Medicines Policy’ to support the cost effective and sustainable use of medicines. A focus of this work is on how medicines wastage can be reduced.

Recent emphasis, which can lead to reduced waste, has been on de-prescribing which means for individual patients, some prescriptions for medicines could be stopped, changed or the amount reduced if it has been assessed that the medicine is either no longer needed, is ineffective, inappropriate or unsafe for that patient. These changes will only be made after an assessment of the patient by their healthcare professional, and where it is in their best interests to deprescribe.

SPPG has been delivering a successful social media campaign to support de-prescribing in a wide range of therapeutic areas, and includes advice on lifestyle and other symptom specific interventions to allow patients to better manage their conditions. Additionally, patients are being urged to only order the medicines that they need and use and not to ‘stockpile’.