Why when everyone else is trying to cut down on single use plastic does Lloyd's launch a centralised system that packs repeat prescriptions in a plastic bag. Only for the local pharmacy to put it in a paper bag!What planet are you living on

Reply from LloydsPharmacy
Fri, 05 Jul 2019 14:49:45 +0100

Hi Chris. Please accept my sincere apologies for any disappointment that you have experienced due to the use of plastic bags as packaging for your prescription. I can confirm we have an automated system that assembles our prescriptions at a central location before they are returned for distribution from your local store. The system is a major innovation in pharmacy and is continually being evaluated and developed, for instance to assess the environmental impact. The use of plastic bags was a business and operational decision taken by the Prescription Assembly System (PAS) Project Team based on the capabilities of the automated dispensing system. Last year saw the number of prescriptions being dispensed by community pharmacies rise by 2.9 million and LloydsPharmacy are making use of cutting edge technological developments to cope with this increase without impacting negatively on patients. Unfortunately, when using traditional paper bags the quality of packaging cannot be guaranteed at the point of reaching the patient which is why the prescriptions have been delivered in a printed plastic wrapper. As this automated process has minimal human involvement to improve efficiency, we must ensure that the final bagging process does not compromise this in any way. The clear window allows the instore pharmacist at your local LloydsPharmacy store to complete a further check, ensuring accurate dispensing which would not be possible or practical when using paper bags. The bags we currently use are fully recyclable and have been sourced from recyclable material (the bags are made from 38 micron LDPE - low density polythene). This material is recyclable however not all areas will recycle this. I have attached a link to a site which will give you your nearest recycling location for plastic bags if you enter your postcode https://www.recyclenow.com/ However, this process is still under constant review and we will be aiming to change to a fully bio-degradable material by the end of Autumn. I can confirm that this wrap will be fully compostable and will degrade within 6 months. It will therefore be accepted for recycling by your local authority and will not pose a long term problem to our environment. Our overriding concern is of course, that of patient safety and I would like to thank you for taking the time to share your concerns regarding the packaging of your prescription which will be shared with the project team for further consideration. However, if you would prefer your prescription to be made up and dispensed at your local store, please feel free to speak with the pharmacy team, who will be more than happy to assist you further. Jas