CorrMed medicine pouches support a more sustainable and cost-effective healthcare system, empowering medical professionals to focus on what matters most - saving lives.
Pharmaceutical waste poses a significant challenge to the NHS, with reported costs exceeding £300 million annually. It's an environmental concern too, as aside from wasting energy and resource, the chemicals from discarded drugs can leach into water systems, harming the environment and human health. This contributes to biodiversity loss, further fuels resistance to medicines, and hampers our efforts to achieve industry sustainability goals. Even more shockingly, at least half of this waste is avoidable!
A significant portion of this wastage stems from patients not using their full prescriptions. Yet, an often-overlooked factor contributing to pharmaceutical wastage occurs within the healthcare system itself, prior to administering to patients. Working in conjunction with emergency services, we identified a recurring issue: damage to packaging and boxes that results in the precautionary disposal of otherwise suitable medication. Much of this wastage is entirely avoidable, but the realities of time and resource pressures can create unnecessary waste. For example, in situations where swift treatment is crucial, time is the priority which means that medicine is emptied out onto the floor for quick selection of the appropriate packet. Not only does this increase the risk of cross-contamination between patients, it is also inefficient, stressful, unorganised, and may result in damaged packaging (especially with repeated occurrences). Similarly, in a community nursing scenario, existing medicine storage solutions create a comparable challenge, with medicines not secured and liable to be damaged or unnecessarily impacted.
Adhering to the guidelines established by the General Pharmaceutical Council, healthcare professionals are instructed to dispense medication as a full pack in its original packaging. This contributes to eligible product often being discarded due to damaged packaging. Although such measures are a regulatory necessity, high-pressure situations demand emergency responses – a fact which other market medical bags fail to facilitate.
In response to this challenge, CorrMed set out to develop a solution that would eliminate this stress and ultimately reduce or even eliminate this unnecessary destruction. Our innovative Medicines Tablet Pouch [FG1] – which can be purchased alone or as part of our Paramedic Medicines Backpack[FG2] – has a unique, but simple innovation, designed with a removable, segmented divider that allows medicine packages to be securely stored side by side, clearly organised and visible. The design is further enhanced by a clear front, ensuring easy viewing when needed, at the same time simplifying the restock process. Identification windows, accessible from the inside of the lid align with the dividers, allowing for easy labelling with appropriate information. We have seen these spaces utilised for including the date that medication was opened, batch expiry dates, and even a tally of how many pills are left. This customisable design seamlessly provides whatever information you decide is most pertinent to you and your processes, which can significantly enhance your efficiency.
Looking at the design more closely, the reinforced dividers can be easily adjusted or removed to accommodate any type of medicine. This segmented layout not only enhances manual handling, but also provides convenient access to medicine packets. Made with medical grade foil, the inner lining of the bag offers thermal protection as well as physical protection for your medication. Moreover, our pouches are constructed with durable and fully wipeable materials, meeting IPC-compliance standards. This design not only ensures 100% infection control while keeping medicines in optimum condition, but also minimises the need for multiple bags and reduces the risk of items getting lost.
When every second counts, protecting the packaging of your supplies should be the least of your worries. By adopting CorrMed's Medicine Tablet Pouches, medical professionals can transport supplies easily, manage efficiencies, and contribute to reducing pharmaceutical waste (and, consequently, NHS expenditure). By alleviating this avoidable cost, the NHS can allocate more resources towards critical healthcare needs, contributing to a more sustainable healthcare system.
Explore the Medicines Tablet Pouch here: https://www.corrmed.com/product-page/tablet-pouch
Purchase as part of a set with the Medicines Backpack: https://www.corrmed.com/product-page/Paramedic-medicines-backpack