PATIENTS in Dumfries and Galloway are being encouraged to buy their own paracetamol.
Prescriptions for the painkiller are being scaled back as part of action to ensure the most effective use of medicines locally. It’s just one of the steps announced by health bosses battling with major financial pressures.
Director of pharmacy Nikki Holmes said: “We are facing significant financial challenges and must ensure every pound is used in the most effective way to support treatment and care. Each health board receives an annual pot of funding from the Scottish Government from which to deliver all local services and supply all necessary medications. This is a fixed budget, and there is no additional funding beyond that amount.
“Paracetamol is an important and widely used medicine, but it can often be bought for less than 50 pence from supermarkets and pharmacies. By comparison, supplying paracetamol through an NHS prescription costs considerably more. “We are asking that paracetamol only be prescribed for short courses, or on an ongoing basis where there is a clear, identified clinical need.”
Patients attending day case procedures will be encouraged to purchase their own supplies of pain relief beforehand. Paracetamol will not routinely be prescribed at discharge from hospital unless there is a clear clinical need. Similarly, GPs are being asked to limit prescribing paracetamol to cases where there is an ongoing requirement, and to direct patients to purchase it themselves.
It is part of wider efforts by NHS Dumfries and Galloway to address an unprecedented savings target of £21.3 million in 2025/26. This includes reducing medicines waste, which is estimated to cost the Board over £1 million every year.
Medical director Dr Kenneth Donaldson said: “Every pound spent wisely helps to support the sustainability of all our services, including provision of vital medications. “Small actions, like purchasing paracetamol when possible and ordering only the medicines you need, can collectively make a real difference.”
