ALMOST a million pounds a year is wasted on unused and unneeded drugs in Runcorn and Widnes.

People are not changing their prescriptions when they stop taking medicines and are not cutting down their dosage.

Halton Primary Care Trust says it loses about £800,000 every year.

Nicola Hayes, senior pharmaceutical advisor, said: "This is a huge problem but has a simple solution, which is for people to order only what they need.

"Unfortunately there is no such thing as a free prescription and everything has to be paid for whether it is used or not.

"Many people do not realise that once a medicine has been dispensed to a patient it cannot be reused, even if it is returned to the pharmacy unopened.

"I would urge people to check with their pharmacist or GP before a medicine is dispensed if they think it might not be needed."

The problem is wide spread across the north west and a major regional campaign is being launched.

It emphasises that when money is wasted on unnecessary prescriptions, other parts of the NHS suffer.

For example the amount of waste medicines collected in Halton each year would pay for 143 hip replacements or 1,017 cataract operations.

If you want to stop taking medicines you need to discuss this with your GP or pharmacist first.