A DIABETIC pensioner fears he will have to choose between insulin and food after a free needle collection service was axed.

Healthcare providers would collect used needles for free up until the start of this year but now users across south Essex will have to pay for council services which include a charge.

Manilall Joysury, 70, from Westcliff, said: “I am a pensioner suffering from diabetes since 2002.

“I really find to pay a charge of £8 to collect a sharp bin on a monthly basis unaffordable.

“I am very concerned that I might not be able to have the injections.

“Unfortunately I am allergic to the tablets to control my sugar levels, so have no other option but to have the insulin injections.

“I do wonder how many other pensioners in the Southend area will be able to afford these unnecessary charges imposed by the council.

“As far as I know you cannot take the bins to any nearby doctors’ surgeries.

“My nearest health centre, The Valkyrie Surgery in Westcliff, used to take the bins, but this was stopped as the council is doing it.

“I can barely get by as it is on my pension and don’t think this charge is fair at all.

“If I cannot pay for the bins, I am worried that I may not be able to have my insulin and I need that to survive.”

A spokesman for the NHS said: “From January 1, 2019, collection of sharps waste will not be made as part of the routine NHS England-funded patient medication returns.

“Clinical waste (including sharps waste) and offensive waste produced at a domestic property, is considered to be household waste. Such waste is the responsibility of the local authority where the household is located.”

Cllr Mark Flewitt, cabinet member for public protection at Southend Council, said: “The council has provided a sharps disposal service for a number of years now at a cost.

"However, up until 1 January 2019, the NHS provided this service free of charge.

"Since the NHS has decided to no longer provide this service, residents are now being directed to our clinical waste service.

“We appreciate the collection fee is an unwanted cost, however it reflects the bespoke nature of the service - providing a door-to-door collection of a hazardous material in a tailored way.

"We would never actively encourage residents to stop taking their medicine before seeking professional advice from their doctor.

"Residents are kindly reminded sharps and clinical waste must not be disposed of in black refuse sacks.”

Visit southend.gov.uk/clinicalwaste for more.