Disposal of unwanted medicines

Question 1

What is the aim of the disposal of unwanted medicines service (2)

Answer 1

1. to reduce the incidence of accidental poisoning at home because of unwanted medicines
2. to reduce the risk of exposing people to medicines that have been disposed of unsafely.

Question 2

How are unwanted medicines disposed (7)

Answer 2

1. Medicines brought in for disposal need to be stored in special containers.
2. These are provided by an approved waste disposal company that comes and collects the full containers and replaces them with empty ones.
3. Returned solid medicines, injections, ampoules, liquids and aerosols will have to be separated.
4. Returned liquid medicines should be stored in the specific liquids container supplied by your waste management company.
5. Aerosol medicines should be stored separately from the other returned medicines.
6. Returned Controlled Drugs should be stored separately and securely (in the CD cabinet) until they have been ‘denatured’ by the pharmacist.
7. CDs need to be denatured to inactivate the drug. This means that they cannot be put directly in the disposal bins, and if you receive any patient-returned CD medication, you should give them to the pharmacist straight away.

Question 3

What should be done when disposing of CDs (6)

Answer 3

1. There will be some paperwork that your pharmacy will need to keep, so when the representative of the waste company comes in, always tell someone in the dispensary.
2. In addition, you are required to keep records of some types of patient-returned CDs in a designated book or folder.
3. You will not always know if there are any CDs included in a bag full of medicines. Always make sure that you check the content of returned medicines with the pharmacist or a senior dispensary staff before you accept the waste from a patient or their representative.
4. Always handle anything given to you by a customer for disposal with care.
5. Patients should return asthma inhalers and insulins (with no needles).
6. Equipment to deal with spillages should be kept near the containers – spill kits, gloves, goggles, overalls, etc. Ask your pharmacist for the pharmacy’s SOP on handling returned medicines and medicinal waste.