The costly error was revealed in a board report published on 12 March, by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH).

The report stated: ‘The committee was advised of a pharmacy fridge door which was recently inadvertently left ajar and led to £25K of medication being rendered unusable.

‘However, regarding pharmacy wastage, it was noted that several mitigations had been identified which could save a significant amount of money for the trust; a business case was in the process of being developed, which if successful, would increase the 41 capacity for medicines recycling, leading to less wastage.'

A SaTH spokesperson said: ‘The trust is committed to reducing waste to ensure value for money and is always looking for new opportunities, including within pharmacy.

‘The overall cost of pharmacy waste remains around the trust's target and while it has increased slightly, this is due to an increase in costs of purchasing medicines.'