Medicines going unused across the borough is costing the NHS £1m a year a council report has revealed.

The agenda for a full council meeting set to be held on September 9 has highlighted the huge cost of unused medicines and called for more focus on informing people about the issue.

It is thought that medicines go unused for a variety of reasons, including people re-ordering all prescriptions instead of just the ones they need and difficulties taking ordered prescriptions.

Dr Andrew Murray, chairman of NHS Merton CCG, said: "One of the biggest problems is repeat prescriptions, which are ordered and collected by patients but then not used.

"It is estimated that at any one time £90 million worth of unused prescription medicines are being retained in individual’s homes across the UK. With a few simple considerations, patients could help save the NHS millions each year."

The £1 million cost attributed to Merton borough was calculated by national figures from the NHS based on the number of people with long-term conditions who rely on repeat prescriptions and could potentially have been spent on 23 dementia nurses, 33 district nurses or 270 hip replacements.

Once medicines are dispensed they can not be re-used, so community pharmacies and Merton GPs are urging people to only ask for what they need.

People who have unused medicines in their possession are urged to take them back to their local health centres so they can be disposed of properly.

A medicine waste campaign was launched by the NHS in Merton in June, but no figures have been released yet on its effectiveness on reducing the cost of unused medicine.