Protein drinks such a waste!

What about local care homes, maybe? They might take them.

I had a box full of these that I paid for from Amazon that I never used so gave them to our local cancer support group.

Donate to a community kitchen or foodbank.

Care home won't take them, not allowed!

What about the Olia app for donating unwanted food?

Or a food bank?

grannysyb

Care home won't take them, not allowed!

That's a shame - try advertising them on your local Facebook residents' group or Marketplace or even Gumtree.

This is a common problem and one of the ways the NHS could save money- people are given boxes of this stuff which they don't use but I'm not sure why they agree to having it in the first place.
Makes you wonder how much would be saved, including environmentally, if they just suggested patients try them before dumping boxes full of it on them.

grannysyb

My husband has just finished radiotherapy, we now have a pile of these drinks, he can't tolerate them, hospital won't have them back, local hospice don't want them, nor do age uk. Looks like they're going into landfill, really annoying.

I feel for you. My DGD had special, high calorie baby formula that came in little bottles. Her prescription seemed to be constantly changing.
I once had to dispose of over 100 bottles. It seemed criminal to empty all this highly nutritious food when there were appeals for famine relief, but, because it was prescribed no charity could take it.
Believe me, I tried!

Freecycle.org would probably take it.

My husband had boxes of these and after he died I eventually got Nutricia ( the company supplying us) to take them away. I don't know what they did with them!

This is just one indication of the amount of money wasted by the NHS, and it’s been going on for decades. It seriously needs to be addressed. Maybe, as others have suggested, try the local food bank or advertise on community groups grannysyb.

I was in the same position when DH died, I had bought them as the NHS would not prescribe.
I ended up pouring them down the sink and recycling the containers. Such a waste.

The local Hospice took all of my dear Mum’s protein drinks.

They were prescribed and in the bags/boxes from the pharmacy.

I had boxes of laxido which I never needed. They are out of date now.

I did try to hand the drinks back, when our lovely nurse appeared with them, I asked if she could take them back,no! There really ought to be a better system. A friend who managed to contract c.difficile has taken a few.

It's a shameful waste, I agree with the others and try and give them to a food bank, advertise locally. I'd have snapped them up if you were close due to a brutal liquid diet I'm on after surgery, I'm sure someone will be extremely grateful for them

I would ask the food bank if they will take them.

The issue with passing these on is for those of us who need them we get them on prescription. You might find somebody on a keep fit kick might want them for the protein value of them.

We bought these for my dad - they are not cheap. I would certainly try to put them on Freegle. I know they are available on prescription, but you don’t have to have a prescription to get them?

Not only protein drinks but drugs
Packets and packets of unopened drugs and dressings NHS wont take back. Think of the cost of this
Even if the prescription is issued but patient dies or has to have a change they cannot be used.

most places have a local "I need a whisk" group on facebook where people give away things rather than landfill to local people , someone will have them, eg "I need a whisk Basingstoke (replace with your town name)"

Same with crutches, go on social media and moan you've sprained your ankle and a 100 people will offer you the crutches they have from hospitals, but can't be arsed to take them back. Must be costing the NHS millions

We now have a collection point for crutches etc . I would use freegle or olio as these go to individuals not charities so someone will probably take them.
After my mum died the things I struggled to get rid of were tena pads - many packages of them! They came as a regular delivery and the company wouldn't take them back. I eventually gave them to a group who took back equipment such as her zimmer etc, but they said they would probably be used for mopping up spills! Again such a waste!