Charity condemns costly and dangerous prescribing of anti-psychotic drugs

Over 100,000 people with dementia are currently being prescribed antipsychotic drugs which research shows have minimal benefit and dangerous side effects.

The charity has called for an end to the widespread drug abuse of people with dementia following a BBC Panorama investigation. The first All Party Parliamentary Group for Dementia has announced an inquiry into the overuse of anti-psychotic medication for the care of people with dementia.

The Alzheimer's Society has argued that money wasted on sedative drugs should be spent on training care home staff to deliver good quality dementia care.

Neil Hunt, chief executive of Alzheimer's Society, says,

'Today is D-Day for dangerous drug prescribing. Sedating a person with dementia should be a last resort but too often doctors are turning to the medicine cabinet without considering the alternatives. Today Panorama is shining a light on the widespread drug abuse of people with dementia, which has been hidden away for too long. The first parliamentary inquiry into the practice is also an important step to uncovering the true scale of the problem, and we look forward to its findings.

Over 100,000 people are being prescribed these drug treatments that leave people with dementia in a zombie like state, robbed of their quality of life. Research shows that anti-psychotics have minimal benefit and drastically increase the risk of death and stroke. It is absurd that we are wasting millions of pounds prescribing these drugs when this money would be much better spent training health professionals in dementia care.

Dementia isn't only about memory loss; more than half of all people with dementia experience behavioural symptoms as part of their condition. Basic dementia training can help staff deal with these symptoms and has been shown to reduce the use of antipsychotics drugs by 50 per cent. This lazy and costly prescribing must stop.'

The Alzheimer's Society is campaigning against the overuse of anti-psychotic drug treatments as part of its putting care right campaign. Last week, a new report highlighted the huge variation in the standard of care that people with dementia receive in care homes and called for mandatory training for all care home staff. Guidelines recommend that people with dementia should only be prescribed sedatives as a last resort, when their symptoms are very severe.