Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so why, drugs supplied by the NHS which are returned unopened or unsealed owing to circumstances which make them no longer required are destroyed.

The Department is concerned about wastage from unused medicines and is keen to minimise unnecessary extra costs. However, it does not promote the reuse of returned medicines that have left a pharmacy and returned unused by patients. This is because it is not possible to guarantee the quality of returned medicines on physical inspection alone. When medicines are returned from patient’s homes, there is no way of knowing whether the medicines have been stored or handled appropriately. Some medicines may deteriorate if, for example, left too close to a radiator, in direct sunlight or exposed to the environment. This applies whether the medicines are unopened or unsealed.