One in 10 prescriptions ‘wasted on unnecessary medication’

PATIENTS may be taking pills they no longer need because they were unable to see their GP during the pandemic, England’s top doctor has suggested.

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said over-prescribing by doctors was costing the NHS “millions” and they should not be offering a “pill for every ill”.

Speaking at the NHS Confedexpo conference in Liverpool, Sir Stephen said that around 10 per cent of prescriptions issued were for unnecessary medication.

Primary care drugs cost the NHS around £9.69billion a year, according to the latest official figures, so almost £1billion could be saved by ending such prescriptions.

Sir Stephen added that the pandemic had “undoubtedly” caused some patients to remain on medication they no longer needed because they were unable to see their GP.

He added: “Reducing unnecessary prescriptions, which can increase the risk of harm and cause unwanted side effects, is more important than ever.”

The right “balance” between face-toface and remote consultations needed to be struck after the pandemic, he said. “I know full well that there are times where you need somebody in front of you, obviously if you need to examine them, but also there are some conversations that are better face-to-face.”

His comments come as the College of Medicine launched Beyond Pills, a campaign, urging “social prescribing” such as exercise instead of drugs.

More than one in seven people – 8.4 million – in England take five or more medicines a day, research suggests, and hospital admissions caused by adverse reactions to drugs cost the NHS an estimated £2billion a year.

A review last year found around one in five hospital admissions among over65s were the result of adverse reactions to drugs.

Prof Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPS, said where “safe and possible” the college agrees it is right to reduce prescribing in the long-term “because neither GPS nor patients want medication to be a permanent solution for their health conditions”.

Dennis Reed, director of campaign group Silver Voices, said doctors too often see pills as an “easy fix”. He said: “If doctors had time to address the underlying condition and could quickly get patients the treatment they needed there would be less need for drugs, such as painkillers and antidepressants.”

‘Reducing unnecessary prescriptions, which can increase the risk of harm, is more important than ever’