Mr. Darragh O'Loughlin:

I will start at the end and work back up through the questions. The question of people collecting medicines they do not need, or that they do need but do not take is serious. We have always advocated a dispose of unused medicines properly, DUMP, scheme to get the medicines out of people’s homes. People can clear out their cupboards and bring the medicines back to the pharmacy so that they are not in the house, running the risk of break-ins or of children and grandchildren getting their hands on them. It means too that the pharmacist will see what is not being taken and will know that it is either something that should no longer be dispensed to the patient or will have to tell the patient that he or she must take the tablet because it is quite important.

The incidence of people collecting medicine from the pharmacy that they do not need is falling off because of the prescription charge which is now €2.50 an item. That might not sound like a lot of money but in some people’s budgets it is quite a lot, especially if one is taking ten medicines and it adds up to €25. Pharmacists are reporting now that more patients come in with multiple items on a prescription and say they will only take the sleeping tablet and pain killer now and come back for the others later when they have the money. It is almost like a pay as you go system for filling prescriptions as people eke out their medicines to try to avoid paying the charge until it has to be paid. That will become a bigger issue than unused medicines in people’s houses in future.

I agree that it is important for pharmacists not to just hand out the medicines to people but to say the box, the name, the tablet all look different but it is the same. Many pharmacists now write the old name on the label. For example, for a generic drug such as atorvastatin, which used to be called Lipitor, the pharmacist will write “same as Lipitor” on the label. We do not want patients not to take their medication because they do not recognise the name. Equally, we do not want them taking medication from this month’s yellow box along with some from last month’s blue box, if it is the same tablet, and accidentally doubling up on it.