If you visit your local GP surgery or pharmacy at this time of year, there is a good chance that you will see posters and leaflets about antibiotics.

If you take time to read them, they will probably tell you that we need to use fewer antibiotics and that they don’t work for most coughs and colds.

In spite of this good advice, we still use lots of antibiotics. Last year, there were nearly 4 million prescriptions for antibiotics issued in the West Midlands alone. The question is "why?"

I have been an NHS frontline worker for many years while building web applications and using social media to network and collaborate. Therefore I have experienced what it is like to try to connect and collaborate online.

NHS Coventry has recently found that an estimated £8m is wasted each year on unused prescriptions.

It is not at all unusual for patients to have medicine, often through a repeat prescription, and then, for a variety of reasons, leave it unused in a cupboard.