HSE medicine disposal service

A FREE service to dispose of unused or out-of-date medicines is on offer to people in Cork and Kerry.

More than 200 pharmacies in both counties are participating in the campaign and are actively encouraging people to return unwanted medicine to them so that the material can be disposed of safely.

A previous Dispose of Unused Medicines Properly (DUMP) campaign, which finished last March, saw a staggering 2.5 tonnes of unused medicines returned by the public to their local participating pharmacy.

The latest Health Service Executive campaign will run in participating pharmacies until December 3.

HSE South community care pharmacist Louise Creed yesterday said unused medicines posed a real hazard in the home, particularly to children or other vulnerable people.

She urged people to regularly clear out their medicine cabinet, to check all the dates and remove anything that was out-of-date or no longer required.

“As well as the hazards posed by overdose, accidental poisoning and damage to the environment, medicines can change when out of date and may end up being harmful,” said Ms Creed.

Brightly-coloured medications or liquids can easily be mistaken for sweets or drinks by children or other vulnerable people.

Last year, the National Poisons Information Centre received more than 8,000 enquiries relating to pharmaceutical overdoses, with 48% of cases involving children.

There are an average of six accidental deaths due to medication poisoning each year in Cork and Kerry.