Our Outpatient Pharmacy Team has worked on an innovative project to be able to safely reuse medication which has been returned to the pharmacy. The previous system meant that medication went for incineration. As well as saving money the new process also helps deliver our Green Plan commitment to become carbon net zero.

The NTW Solutions Outpatient Pharmacy supplies medicines for CNTW patients who are in the care of community treatment teams. These patients will be seen by clinicians across the region in various clinics and the outpatient pharmacy puts together their prescriptions so they are available at the right time.

There are various reasons medication might be returned without having been used and in the past this had to be destroyed and only brand new medication was dispensed. The team have worked on a process to allow medication to be safely returned and reused. Because of the importance of safety this has been a hugely complex project to work through.

The project has been complex which required a thorough analysis of pharmacy legislation as well as dialogue with multiple regulatory and professional bodies. The idea has also been through all the necessary internal processes within CNTW. This thorough approach has been essential to ensure that safety is at the heart of the new process.

Clinical teams can now return medication if it has been transported correctly, has not left the possession of the team, and has been stored at the correct temperature. This has the potential to save thousands of pounds as well as save usable medication from incineration.