Campaign aims to cut store of unused drugs

(First Edition)

A CAMPAIGN to cut the store of unwanted pills in the home is to be launched today by Brian Mawhinney, the Minister of State for Health, as part of a government drive to cut the National Health Service drugs bill, writes Colin Brown.

Dr Mawhinney is expected to reveal the details of a pilot study to be carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys of 2,000 homes taken randomly across Britain.

The data will be used to urge family doctors and hospitals to prescribe drugs more cost-effectively in an attempt to cut down the waste in the NHS pounds 3bn bill for drugs, many of which remain unused in bathroom medicine cabinets.

The survey will seek to discover the reasons why so many drugs are unused and whether more steps can be taken to reduce the excessive amount issued at taxpayers' expense.