Wasted or unused medicine is a serious and growing problem within the NHS that you can help tackle.
Medicines that are requested on prescriptions but then not used are sometimes referred to as Medicines Waste. Nationally, for every £25 spent on prescription medication, £1 is wasted.
The NHS pays for every medicine it dispenses, there is no such thing as a free prescription, and if it is not needed by the patient the NHS also pays for the medicines to be disposed of.
By talking and listening to the local community, GPs, pharmacies and other healthcare professionals it’s clear how important it is that we tackle the issue of medicine waste, particularly at a time when locally and nationally the NHS system is facing major challenges to meet the demand for services within available resources.
Reducing medicines waste is important to us, but it is not something we can do alone.
We need your help to work together to stop medicines waste across the area, reduce the spend, and get more from your local NHS.
We want to raise awareness amongst the public and need to get residents in South East London to:
If your GP prescribes medication to treat a condition, it’s important to take it in exactly the way that it’s been prescribed to receive the most benefit.
If you stop taking your medication – or if you stop taking it in the way your doctor prescribed – please tell your doctor about this. They’ll help you to make an informed choice about your medication and may be able to prescribe an alternative.
Cold weather can make some health problems worse and even lead to serious complications, especially if you’re 65 or older, or if you have a long-term health condition.
On 10 December 2025, the Civic Suite in Catford hosted the Integrated Neighbourhood Development Marketplace – an event that brought together partners from across Lewisham to share ideas, build connections and explore how we can work more closely to improve health and wellbeing. The marketplace featured stalls from a wide range of services and programmes, […]
Join the meeting of the Lewisham LCP Strategic Board to hear about our plans and have the opportunity to ask questions. Please submit questions in advance to lewishamquestions@selondonics.nhs.uk We will endeavour to provide an answer to questions submitted in advance. The agenda and supporting papers for this meeting are available here. Click here to join […]
Our Winter Health Bus will be at in Giffin Street SE8 (just off Deptford High street) on Wednesday 3rd December 2025 between 10am-4pm and at Albion Way SE13 (opposite Lewisham Shopping Centre) on Friday 5th December 2025 between 10am-4pm – jump on board for tips to stay healthy this winter. What’s on offer? Free winter […]