Big prescription bill is putting key services at risk of more cuts

Health chiefs want people to check their prescriptions, only order what they need and consider whether they can afford to buy medication, like paracetamol, which is available over the counter.

A campaign has been launched by the area’s health and social care partnership (HSCP) — which pays for every prescription written in East Renfrewshire — as a £3m overspend is expected in the prescribing budget this year.

Overall, the HSCP needs to plug an almost £12m funding shortfall in 2024/25 — and reducing the prescribing bill, by cutting waste, is seen as an essential move to protect frontline services. Plans to save cash so far have seen social care support prioritised to those in ‘substantial or critical’ need only.

Figures from an NHS England national overprescribing review report in September 2021 showed around 10% of medicines are thrown away because they’re not needed or haven’t been taken.

A survey by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde found more than a third of people said they always, often or sometimes kept a greater supply of medicines than they needed at home while 41% also said they always, often or sometimes ordered a resupply before the due date.

East Renfrewshire’s HSCP has reported it is spending over six figures on prescriptions for over-the-counter medicines such as paracetamol, ibuprofen and antihistamines. These can “cost as little as 30p” in shops but the cost to the HSCP for prescribing them is higher, it said.

Cllr Katie Pragnell, chair of East Renfrewshire Integration Joint Board, which directs the HSCP, said: “We desperately need to reduce our prescribing budget and our hope is that this campaign will help residents to understand how important this is for East Renfrewshire.

“The IJB has already approved difficult plans to bridge the HSCP funding gap, and regrettably residents are already seeing changes to local health and social care services as a result of this.

“If we don’t reduce the prescribing budget significantly, we risk further cuts to frontline services and we want to avoid this at all costs.”

The campaign asks residents, particularly those with repeat prescriptions, to review their medications and if they, or a family member, has stopped taking a medicine to get in touch with their GP to cancel it.

It also requests people check their prescription bags before leaving the pharmacy to make sure they only have what they need. Items returned before leaving the pharmacy can be reused.

GP practices, pharmacy teams or nurses can be contacted to review your medication to check it is correct for you, and medicines at homes that are out of date or no longer required can be returned to local pharmacies for safe disposal.

Cllr Pragnell, Labour, said anyone with questions about their prescription should speak to “your local pharmacist or GP who will be happy to help”.

“Thank you in advance for reviewing your medications — by doing this you will make a big difference to your community,” she added.

Gail Caldwell, director of pharmacy at NHS GGC, added: “It’s natural for people to want to request an extra packet of medicine for their elderly mother, or to order one more inhaler for their child in the run-up to a holiday, but we would encourage everyone to think twice about stockpiling medicines or ordering them before they need them.

“Huge amounts of medicine need to be thrown away either because they’re not needed or haven’t been taken, and by resisting the urge to over-order, or to order earlier than you need, people would make an important contribution to supporting the NHS, to the environment and ultimately to frontline services in East Renfrewshire.”

For more information on the campaign, visit: https://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/Meds.