Repeat prescriptions - ordering what's needed

Repeat prescriptions – Only order what you need
Pharmacy teams and GPs across Surrey Heartlands are asking people to only order the medicines they need.
Unused medicines cost the NHS around £300 million every year and a large amount of medicine items are wasted. We need your help to reduce this.
When medicines are wasted, they can’t be reused or recycled, and this adds to pollution and harms wildlife. It also means that valuable NHS resources are being wasted.
It is really important to check what medicines you have at home ordering. Before placing a prescription ask yourself do you/the person you care for really need to order the medicines.
How you can play your part:
Check what medicines you have at home
- Only ask for the medicines you or the person you care for need this time. Repeat items stay on the prescription even if you don’t order them every month.
- Try keeping all medicines in one safe place at home. You can see what’s left and what you need to reorder.
- For each prescription, take medicine from one pill packet at a time. Keep a track of what’s taken and what’s left.
- Make a note on your calendar 7 to 10 days before the prescription due date, to go through the medicines and see what is left. Being organised in this way means that if bank holidays or weekends are coming up, you will have planned enough for these dates too.
Collecting prescriptions from the pharmacy
- Check your prescription bag before you leave the pharmacy. Make sure that there’s nothing extra that you/the person you care for don’t need in there.
If you return an item before you leave the pharmacy, the medicines can be reused.
If the person you care for has a stay in hospital (or you do yourself)
Always keep a list of the medicines, the doses, and how they’re taken.
Take all your medicines with you. The hospital won’t need to dispense more of the same medicines, saving time too.
When it’s time for the person you care for (or you) to go home, check you have the right medicines. Before you leave ask if any changes have been made to the medicines and take home what is still suitable.
Talk to your pharmacist
Let your pharmacy team know if you’ve stopped taking any of your medicines. Also tell them or if any medicines are no longer right for you.
Speak to your pharmacy team if you have questions about your prescription.
Unused or out of date medicines and inhalers should always be returned to your pharmacy for safe disposal.
Remember…
Stay well
- Unused medicines go out of date and might not work as intended, meaning your care might be compromised
- Stockpiling medicines worsens drug shortages
Stay safe
- Stockpiles of medicines kept at home can be dangerous for children and pets
- Medicines are only prescribed for you. It is not safe to share prescribed medicines with anyone else
Safe green
- Dispose of medicines properly, by handing them in to your pharmacy.
- Help to make sure that medicines do not pollute our rivers and seas
- Only ordering what you need means that you are helping the environment because once medicines have left the pharmacy, they cannot be recycled or used by anyone else.