‘Only Order What You Need’ – Medicine Waste Campaign
The West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board’s (ICBs) Medicines Optimisation Team are set to launch a behaviour change campaign across West Yorkshire on Monday 7th July 2025. This public-facing campaign focuses on medicine waste (over ordering and stockpiling of medicines).
The ‘Only order what you need’ campaign is aimed at the public and is centred around educating patients or those ordering prescriptions on their behalf such as carers, on the impact of over-ordering and stockpiling prescription medicines, encouraging self-reflection of their ordering behaviour and to encourage patients to inform healthcare teams if receiving unintentional oversupply.
The campaign is to raise awareness of the financial and environmental impacts of medicines waste across the NHS and how the patient can positively impact on this by only ordering what prescription medicines they need, when they need it. Around £18 million is wasted locally every year on unused medicines. This includes inhalers, pain medication and creams, across West Yorkshire. By patients only ordering what they need we can make sure NHS resources go where they are most needed.
A communications toolkit for the campaign is below. There are a range of resources (including posters & digital screen graphic) available to you that can be downloaded from the campaign resources webpage here.
Only Order What You Need – Communications Toolkit
*Medicines waste*
During the ‘Only order what you need’ campaign you might see an increase in medicines waste returned. Please make use of Anenta for changes to waste bin requirements and collections. Contact details and more information can be found our website here.
