{"id":776994,"date":"2026-07-22T02:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T02:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/776994\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T02:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T02:22:14","slug":"questions-over-prescription-charges-as-half-a-million-pounds-wasted-on-unused-medicines-every-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/776994\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions over prescription charges as half a million pounds wasted on unused medicines every year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wasted medicines are costing Jersey<\/a>‘s Health and Care Department half a million pounds each year, according to recent government data. <\/p>\n

Islanders are being asked to manage their prescriptions more carefully – with Health Care Jersey saying waste remains a “significant issue” with big cost, resource, and environmental implications. <\/p>\n

The campaign has been launched as the island’s Health Minister, Senator Tom Binet, told the Jersey Evening Post <\/a>that islanders may have to start paying for prescriptions to help meet rising costs.<\/p>\n

Whilst prescriptions have been free in Jersey since 2008, Senator Binet said he “did not believe the policy was ever a wise one”. <\/p>\n

The island’s free prescriptions scheme costs over 25 million pounds per year to run – but with \u00a3500,000 of that lost on unused medicines, the possible introduction of prescription charges could be a way to tackle the waste problem.<\/p>\n

Across the UK, almost 10% of all dispensed medicines are ultimately wasted. <\/p>\n

However, prescriptions are not free everywhere. <\/p>\n

Whilst Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland run free prescriptions schemes similar to Jersey’s, in England they cost \u00a39.90. <\/p>\n

In Guernsey<\/a>, patients are charged \u00a35.40 per prescription, and in the Isle of Man they cost \u00a33.85. <\/p>\n

Jersey pharmacist Stephen Orme says the question of charging for prescriptions is a “difficult” one, and any kind of charge would have to be introduced with great caution. <\/p>\n

Jersey pharmacist Stephen Orme says unused medicines are a problem for pharmacies – but he wouldn’t want charges to act as a ‘deterrant’. Credit: ITV Channel<\/p>\n

He told ITV News there are rising costs to consider – with pharmacies currently paid a fee of \u00a33.96 by the government to dispense medications, which they must use to cover all overhead costs including staff, rent, and electricity. <\/p>\n

However, he adds: “I feel if you’ve got an illness, it’s not something that you choose to have – it’s not a luxury that should be taxed”. <\/p>\n

Stephen says when he worked in England he felt the cost of dispensing prescriptions acted as a “deterrent” for patients, with some “unable to afford to pay for all the items”. <\/p>\n

ITV News has contacted Health Care Jersey to better understand what a potential paid-for prescriptions scheme might look like, and is waiting for a response. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Health Care Jersey are asking islanders to help reduce waste by: <\/p>\n

Only ordering required medicines;<\/p>\n

Not stockpiling medicines – as expired products may no longer work properly; <\/p>\n

Checking prescription bags before leaving the pharmacy; <\/p>\n

Having regular GP check-ups to ensure prescriptions are still suitable. <\/p>\n

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know\u2026 <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wasted medicines are costing Jersey‘s Health and Care Department half a million pounds each year, according to recent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[97,243],"class_list":["post-776994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-medication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}