Treatment lottery for people with dementia as over-prescribing of dangerous antipsychotics continues

This is according to new research revealed in GP Newspaper.

The data by IMS Health found that:

• Prescription of anti cholinesterase inhibitors, such as Aricept, Reminyl and Exelon, varied by almost 70 per cent regionally.
• Overall prescribing of anti cholinesterase inhibitors was well below other European countries such as Spain, Sweden and Germany.
• Prescribing of antipsychotics also varied across England, with 21 per cent of dementia patients in the North West receiving the drugs, compared with 14 per cent of those in the South West.
• One in five (20%) 20 per cent of all prescriptions for dementia in the UK are for antipsychotic drugs.
  

Neil Hunt, Chief Executive of Alzhiemer's Society says,

'Antipsychotics can double risk of death, triple risk of stroke and accelerate symptoms in people with dementia. It is absolutely disgraceful that so many people across the UK are inappropriately prescribed these drugs.

Antipsychotics should only be used to treat severe symptoms in exceptional circumstances and only for short periods. Specialist dementia training vastly increases quality of life and could save the UK £35 million a year if it was mandatory. The government must address this serious issue and publish its long awaited review.'

The Department of Health review into the use of antipsychotic drugs in people with dementia is due out this summer; it was originally due to be published alongside the National Dementia Strategy for England in October 2008.

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