NHS waste

[Filo]

As most will be now aware, my mother passed away recently, amongst the medication she was on was injections for Deep Vein Thrombosis, at the time of her passing she had about a months supply of daily injections at her house, all unused unopened and sealed. I took them to the chemist thinking that they would be able to put them back into stock for some one else to use, wrong! The chemist wouldn't take them back because they were sharps, I had to arrange for the council to collect them, they told me they had to be incinerated, what a waste, a months supply of injections that some one else could use just written of, no wonder the NHS is on it's arse!

[not on facebook]

U be shocked at what hospitals Throw out Thats
Never Been Opened for whatever reasons

[jucyberry]

They can only accept medication back if it hasn't actually left the chemist. My sister in law to be is a pharmacy assistant, she says it's because they cannot actually guarantee that the items have been stored properly once out of that door.

Think of it the other way, just say you were given a compromised medication and it made you worse.

I agree though it is a shocking waste of money when you think of how much medication is unused every year for one reason or another is simply destroyed.   

[jonnydog]

U be shocked at what hospitals Throw out Thats
Never Been Opened for whatever reasons

True, Mrs JD works on a ward and the amount of meds disposed of that is unopened is ludicrous. Millions wasted each year!!

[Muttley]

And what if someone was adversely affected by an unused drug that had been placed back into stock but had somehow been contaminated...?

I think "better safe than sorry" applies here.

[jonnydog]

The word unopened is key here. Boxes that are still sealed.

[Nudga]

The word unopened is key here. Boxes that are still sealed.

Some medicines are required to be refrigerated, they cannot guarantee that they haven't been stored properly.

[not on facebook]

U be shocked at what hospitals Throw out Thats
Never Been Opened for whatever reasons

True, Mrs JD works on a ward and the amount of meds disposed of that is unopened is ludicrous. Millions wasted each year!!

I was working in a hospital out Here,they was THROWING box after box Of unopened foot ankle support bandages

In the shops each roll Of support bandage would sell at
About 8pounds each.

I took the boxes home then sold the boxes to two
Local football clubs at 30 pounds per box and there was
24 rolls in each box.

Made best part Of 400 pounds.

The reason why the bandages were getting slung out was that some white collar plum order far too many and there was no storage space for them

[Filo]

And what if someone was adversely affected by an unused drug that had been placed back into stock but had somehow been contaminated...?

I think "better safe than sorry" applies here.

I agree with your last comment if the medication neded special storage, but in this case the injections were left on the dining room table by the district nurse, all boxed and sealed, no refrigeration required, it just seems like a waste of perfectly good medication

[Glyn_Wigley]

And what if someone was adversely affected by an unused drug that had been placed back into stock but had somehow been contaminated...?

I think "better safe than sorry" applies here.

I agree with your last comment if the medication neded special storage, but in this case the injections were left on the dining room table by the district nurse, all boxed and sealed, no refrigeration required, it just seems like a waste of perfectly good medication

You know that, they don't.

They have to have a fully tracable audit trail from origin to user, in the same way that aircraft parts have to. Once they were given to yout mother they were deemed as having reached the user and they can't go back into the trail. For all they know you could hold a grudge against them for some reason and could have maliciously tampered with them in some way.