Islanders urged to clear out medicine cabinets

Islanders are being encouraged to take their unwanted and out-of-date medicines to a pharmacy for safe disposal as part of an awareness campaign running from 2-15 June 2014.

 

During the two-week Dispose of Unwanted Medicines Properly (DUMP) campaign, all Jersey pharmacies will be offering the free service and highlighting the dangers of keeping unwanted medication, such as unfinished courses of antibiotics and out-of-date inhalers, in the home.

 

States of Jersey Prescribing Adviser, Paul McManus, says “Accumulating medicines in the home that are no longer needed can be a safety issue for the very young, as well as the vulnerable elderly who may confuse one medicine in a packed cupboard for another. We know that problems with prescription medicines account for about 1 in 20 hospital admissions and hoarding medicines that are no longer needed makes such problems more likely.

 

“We hope this campaign will encourage people to clear out their medicine cabinets, and take anything they no longer need to a pharmacy for proper disposal.”

 

As well as reducing the risk of accidental poisonings, removing unwanted medicines from the home can also reduce the inappropriate sharing of medicines.

 

Community pharmacist, Matt Johnson says “Storing unwanted medication in the home can be a real danger, particularly to children and vulnerable adults. We should all clear out our medicine cupboards regularly and remove out-of-date medicines.

“Although this two week campaign is being used to highlight the importance of this issue, islanders should be aware that pharmacies take unwanted medicine or disposal throughout the year.”