Evening Telegraph (First Edition)

Medicine stash in attic leaves mother ‘fuming’

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A “FUMING” Dundee mother has described how she opened the attic of her new family home to find it stuffed with prescripti­on medication.

Jane Mclean, who moved to the Douglas property with her nine-year-old daughter two months ago, pulled bag after bag from the roof area and was stunned by the sheer volume of pills, painkiller­s, inhalers and eye drops.

Ms Mclean said she agreed to trade her flat for the two-storey property in Balunie Avenue after meeting the previous occupants while out shopping, but still knows very little about the couple.

After moving in, she discovered they had left behind clothing, ornaments and the massive stash of prescripti­on drugs with no warning whatsoever.

“I was absolutely fuming,” Ms Mclean said.

“I started pulling t he bags out of the attic and they just kept coming and coming.

“I think it’s absolutely shocking to have all that kept up there unopened and unused when the NHS is struggling.

“I’m going to go to the chemist who sent it all out and see what I’m best to do with it now, but I hope they find out how t his was allowed to happen — it really is disgusting.”

Cash-strapped NHS Tayside has seen its prescripti­on costs snowball and overspent by almost £7 million for the period from April 2016 to February this year.

Health chiefs estimate a total spend of about £140m on prescribin­g medication­s in the region, with unused or wasted medicines costing £1.4m each year.

It comes as the board is being tasked to cut £175m off its budget over the next five years in an attempt to balance its books.

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