Health Bill [HL]

The Minister said that my noble friend’s amendment would do very little to curb wastage. Would it not encourage patients who are prescribed medicines to take at home to take good care of them and not mislay or lose them? Furthermore, if they have been overprescribed, not by accident but because they needed fewer of the painkillers or whatever it was they were prescribed, would they not say to the doctor on the next occasion, "Look, I don’t actually need of 60 of these; 30 will do because I’ve got plenty at home"? Little things like that could add up to quite a lot in savings for the NHS.