Health experts are asking members of the public to return unused and unwanted medicines to pharmacies in the first medicines amnesty for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Community pharmacies will ensure the medicines are disposed of safely.
Mat Williams is the suicide prevention lead for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. He said: “Nationally 23% of all suicides are completed by overdoses. It is the second most common method of a person ending their life”.
“In 2023 there were 28 suicides in Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland due to overdoses, and many other people will have caused themselves significant harm through overdoses which did not prove to be fatal.
“There are also risks of accidental overdoses for children, the confused, or people who are impulsive or temporarily distressed.
“The risks of these events occurring is greatly reduced if no-one has a stockpile of medicines at home.”
Mr Williams said there were other reasons for returning unused medicines. Ones which are past their use-by date could be ineffective, so using them may not bring the benefits prescribers had hope for. Others will no longer be appropriate.
He added: “You should only ever be using medicine which is prescribed for your current condition.”
Families, friends and carers are being asked to help patients return medicines where appropriate. We are also keen that medicines prescribed for people who have since died are surrendered.
The amnesty campaign runs throughout March 2025.