§ 40. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if any estimate has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of supplying expensive drugs which are destroyed when a patent dies even though in many cases they have not been opened; and if he will take the necessary action to prevent such waste in future.
§ Mr. MoyleI regret there are no statistics which would enable such an estimate to be made.
Although it may seem wasteful to destroy left-over drugs, many drugs, even those in unopened packages, are liable to deteriorate or become contaminated once they have left the pharmacy. No pharmacist could be sure of the condition of any drugs that were returned to his pharmacy and he therefore would not risk reissuing them to another patient.