Step on board Lambeth’s Health and Wellbeing Bus to ask a pharmacist about your medicines

Lambeth communities are being encouraged to visit Lambeth’s Health and Wellbeing Bus to find out how to dispose of unused medicines and to speak to a pharmacist about any medicines they are taking.

Supporting people to understand how their medicines work

This is part of Lambeth Together and NHS South East London’s drive to support people to understand how their medicines work, how multiple medicines might interact with one another, and to inform them about medicines reviews and how to access them. It is also about reducing the amount of medicines that are wasted, and plays a part in wider environmental and sustainability efforts across South East London’s Integrated Care System.

Lelly Oboh, Overprescribing Lead Pharmacist at NHS South East London, said:

“We know that many people are not taking the medicines they have been prescribed, or that they have out of date medicines at home. People who take many different medicines can be worried about how the medicines interact with one another, or they may feel their medicines aren’t working for them.

We want to encourage these people to come and speak to us. We can offer helpful advice about medicines, and tell them how to get a medicines review. This is a conversation with a doctor or pharmacist about how they are getting on with their medicines and any concerns they have. We can also direct people to dispose of unused medicines safely, and in a way that is environmentally more friendly. We want to listen, too, so that we understand better what concerns people have that lead to them not taking their medicines.”

Reaching communities at higher risk of poor health

During September, on selected days, a pharmacist is on board the Health and Wellbeing Bus. The Bus parks up in local neighbourhoods across the borough, bringing health and wellbeing information, advice and support into the heart of Lambeth’s communities, with a focus on reaching those with higher risk of poor health. The bus timetable changes daily – find updates on Lambeth Together’s website: Lambeth’s Health and Wellbeing Bus.

Empowering people with long term health conditions to manage their health and avoid complications

Lambeth Together partner organisations work together to support people who have developed long term health conditions to manage their health and avoid complications. This includes ensuring that people get the right medicines prescribed for them, understand how their medicines work, and are offered a regular review of all their medicines with a health professional. Using an outreach approach is one of the ways that Lambeth Together is working to provide support and information in community settings and in neighbourhoods. To read more about Lambeth Together’s focus on supporting people to stay healthy and get the right help when they need it, see Our Health, Our Lambeth, Lambeth Together’s Health and Care Plan 2023-28.