Frome Medical Practice pioneers campaign to ‘Only Order What You Need’

The NHS in Somerset is urging the public to make a resolution to check their medicine cabinets, as shocking figures reveal that more than one billion prescription items are wasted each year, costing the NHS over £300 million annually.

GP prescribing spend nationally is £10.3 billion a year. NHS England’s National Overprescribing Report shows that around 10% of primary care prescriptions are unnecessary, leading to significant waste at a time when health services need every pound to support patient care. In Somerset alone, pharmacies dispense 30,000 prescription items a day, costing more than £300,000 daily, but around 5% of these go unused or are thrown away, wasting £5 million every year in one county alone.

Incorrect disposal of unwanted medicines, particularly flushing them or throwing them in household waste, pollutes waterways, coastlines and ecosystems, while unnecessary production and transport adds to CO₂ emissions.

Recent medicine checks in Somerset uncovered extreme examples of stockpiling:

• A patient storing 119 bottles of liquid morphine
• Another household with 28,520 excess doses worth almost £3,000
• Eleven patients’ unused medicines producing as much CO₂ as a return flight from New York to London

Recent work by the team at Frome Medical Practice has saved the NHS £278,968 in prescribing costs in one year, leading to the work being hailed as national exemplar. The project, called ‘Only Order What You Need’, also reduced prescribing by 22,278 items, and prevented 122 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, equivalent to driving over 535,000 miles. The money saved can be redirected into frontline NHS Services.

The practice is also now second in England for ‘proxy access’ via the NHS App, enabling carers to safely order repeat prescriptions on behalf of loved ones and dramatically cutting waste and errors. Proxy access for medicines management is where a trusted person (a “proxy,” like a carer, family member or care home staff) can securely log into a patient’s GP online account (like the NHS App) to help manage a patient’s healthcare. This primarily focuses on ordering repeat prescriptions online, reducing phone calls, and improving safety through a digital audit trail. It provides individual login details for the proxy, (not sharing the patient’s), and requires patient consent, offering better security and efficiency than paper methods, especially for care homes.

Shaun Green, Chief Pharmacist at NHS Somerset, said, “Medicines waste is a serious problem that affects local people, the environment and our budgets. By only ordering what you need, checking prescriptions before leaving the pharmacy, and safely returning unused medicines, we can work together to reduce unnecessary costs and ensure NHS resources are focused on patient care.”

Dr Neha Bhagi, partner at Frome Medical Practice, said, “We are enormously grateful to our patients and local pharmacies who supported us and embraced the changes when we introduced ‘Only Order What You Need’ at the practice. It’s been a small but very effective change, which has had a positive impact on people, the planet and the pocket of patients who pay for prescriptions, as well as the NHS.”

Top tips to help reduce medications waste:

1. Order only what you need
2. Check medicines before leaving the pharmacy
3. Speak to your GP or pharmacist about anything you no longer take
4. Return unused medicines to a pharmacy — never bin or flush them

For more information about setting up proxy access, Frome Medical Practice patients can visit a digital health desk, which are held at various times and venues around the town.

More information about Digital Health Support

Published: Mar 6, 2026