Patients' experience of taking prescribed NHS medication in Hertfordshire and West Essex

Publication date

September 2025

Overview

This survey supports work to achieve the following aims:

Make sure that the medicines given to patients are used well and safely.
Encourage people to understand their medicines and be involved in their own care.
Avoid people taking unnecessary medicines or those that might be detrimental to them.
Improve people’s health outcomes and support people to stay as well and as independent as they can.
Reduce medicines waste

Type of research

Online survey to hear from local patients, carers and family members. The survey was shared through the ICB’s people and communities distribution list, with a request to cascade to wider contacts. Over 500 people responded.

The survey was also promoted via social media and the ICB’s Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise Alliance to reach a wider demographic.

Key findings

51% of the 508 patients who responded are not confident to ask question about their medicines.
There is significant patient interest in having regular medicine discussions and 49% of people would like to know more about their medicines.
22.5% of the patients who responded had not had a medicines discussion with a healthcare professional in the past year.
62% of respondents remember having the benefits of their medication explained but 46% did not remember risks being discussed or clearly explained to them.

Of the patients who had taken part in medicine discussions 47% had been with a GP, 22% with a pharmacist, 10% with a nurse and 6% in hospital

Additional information

Actions taken

Developing a Universal Medicine Guide (UMG) that will be available to support best practice and address what matters most to patients and carers. This will be promoted in collaboration with Age UK and the Hertfordshire and West Essex Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCSFE) Alliance. It will also be promoted through a video aimed at encouraging both patients and health professionals to maximise the benefits of medicine reviews.
Ensuring the Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB website provides comprehensive and accurate medicines information for patients.