HEALTH officials say hundreds of thousands of pounds-worth of prescribed medicines are going to waste in east Durham.

The Easington Primary Care Trust has launched a campaign to try to persuade patients who are on repeat prescriptions to order only the items they need and not build up stockpiles.

Last October, the trust ran a clear-out campaign urging people to empty their medicine cabinets of all unused or out-of-date items.

It estimates from the drops and pills that were handed in that about £250,000-worth of medicine goes to waste in the district each year.

The money, the trust says, could have paid for eight more nurses, 42 hip replacements, 125,000 NHS dental appointments and 365 cataract operations.

Trust officials say that even when many medicines are returned to a pharmacy they cannot be reused and the cost of the item is lost.

The trust wants to encourage patients not to order repeat prescription items just in case they run out, which can lead to stockpiles that are never used.

It wants people who take certain items only when they need them - such as pain killers and creams - to only order them when they run out.

Patients are also being urged to tell their GPs when they stop taking an item on repeat prescription. Pharmacists can also give information and advice on medicines.

The trust is also concerned that stockpiles of old tablets pose a danger because they could be swallowed by children.

Unwanted and unused medicines can be taken to local pharmacists who will dispose of them safely.

The trust's medicines management project facilitator, Sue Bentley, said: "This campaign is part of the ongoing work of Easington PCT's medicines management programme, which aims to provide better services and medicines information to patients.

"We hope that the campaign will help patients to understand how to order their repeat prescriptions and encourage them to talk to their GP if they stop taking their medicines.

"Local doctors surgeries and pharmacists will be supporting the campaign by displaying posters and distributing postcards to patients."