Campaign encouraging patients to bring in own medicines launched
3 February 2026
Press release | claudia.blake@nhs.net
Patients asked to bring own medicines into hospital to reduce NHS medicines waste
Patients coming into Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s five adult hospitals, whether it’s for a planned admission or outpatient appointment, are being encouraged to bring their own medicines with them as part of a ‘Bring Your Medicines With You’ campaign.
The campaign, which was launched by the Trust last year and runs alongside the Trust’s Medicines Assessment For Discharge policy, aims to reduce the financial and environmental impact of wasted and duplicated medicines whilst also supporting patients to get home quicker by reducing the time spent on re-dispensing medications they already have before they are discharged home.
Supporting quicker discharges
Patients bringing in their own medications and prescriptions will have them checked on admission by a nurse, doctor or pharmacy staff to make sure the medication is suitable for use, is labelled correctly, within their expiry date and provides the correct dose. They will then be used for their discharge, or topped up from hospital supplies before they leave.
If patients cannot bring their medicines when they are first admitted, for example if they have come in as an emergency, relatives or carers will be asked to bring medicines in when they visit. If patients cannot get their medicines brought in during their stay, they are encouraged to let their nurse, doctor or pharmacy staff know they have sufficient supply at home.
Nationally more than £9 billion was spent on issuing medicines in UK hospitals in 2022/23 with unused or wasted medicines waste across the NHS estimated to cost £300 million a year.
Lee Craven, Medicines Management Services Manager for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“By bringing their own medicines into hospital, patients can play a vital role in helping save the NHS millions of pounds each year by avoiding unnecessary supply of medicines and helping staff get a quick and accurate picture of all the medicines they are taking. By using patients’ own medicines, it reduces the risk of interruptions to their regular doses and medicines stockpiling at home whilst also speeding up dispensing of medicines on discharge, getting them home quicker. The scheme also supports our progress towards becoming a greener, more sustainable healthcare organisation.”
Key benefits of the scheme include:
- Help NHS staff understand what regular medicines their patients are taking
- Make sure the instructions on the medication labels are correct and the medicines are suitable for a patients use
- Make sure the right medicine is available at the right time to avoid missing any doses, reducing the amount of time patients spend in hospital
- Make sure patients continue receiving familiar medicines.
- Make going home quicker and easier, and ensure patients go home with current, in date medicines with correct dosage instructions
- Reduce duplicated packs of medicine piling up at home, reducing the chance of patients taking an incorrectly labelled or expired drug when they return home
- Reduce waste of medicines in the NHS and help reduce the environmental impact
Bring your own medicines scheme - Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
