HEALTH bosses have launched a drive to save the NHS up to ?2million each month by not wasting medicine. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde estimates that unused medicine is costing them more than ?24m every year. That money, they say, could pay for an extra 4000 hip replacements, 3158 heart by-pass operations, 620 physiotherapists, 622 community nurses or 4000 knee replacements across the health board area. Patients are being asked to look at practical ways of helping, as the campaign was launched this week at Merrylee pharmacy in Clarkston Road, on Glasgow's South Side. Pharmacist Steven Guidi said: "Whenever people order a prescription, they tend to order everything on the list instead of ordering only what they need. "The result is that a lot of the medicines become out of date and have to be thrown away. "The best thing for people to do is check what they need when they are ordering. "When you realise how much it is costing then it becomes a priority." Patients on repeat prescriptions can play a major part in medicine waste. Sometimes patients or carers on repeat prescriptions continue to get more medicine than they need. Health bosses are asking patients to check what medicines they still have at home before re-ordering and to let their GP or pharmacist know if they have stopped taking any medicines on their repeat prescription list. Another measure is to make sure any medicines are taken in date order otherwise they can go out of date. Sheila Tenant, prescribing lead for West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership, said: "People don't realise the amount of medicines that are wasted. "What we are trying to do is reduce unnecessary waste through practical measures." Publication date 30/07/08