NHS blitz on waste medicine
NHS patients are being prescribed medicines they do not need.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has now announced a review into the overprescribing.
Almost half of 75-yearolds are taking at least five medicines, with estimated NHS spending on medicines in England growing from £13billion in 2010/11 to £18.2bn in 2017/18.
Mr Hancock said: “Recent advances have led to fantastic developments in managing and treating certain conditions, but poorly managed prescribing can lead to serious issues for patients such as increased admissions to hospital.
“We want to empower doctors and pharmacists to use the data available to ensure patients get the medicines they need and stop taking those that no longer benefit them.”