Home Care Group Springhill Blog Reviews: Elderly in Care 20 Times More Likely To Be On Antipsychotics

Sharp rise in medication, including chemical calming 'cosh', revealed in database study by Queen's University Belfast

Prescriptions for psychotropic drugs, including those sometimes referred to as the "chemical cosh", soar amongst elderly people who are admitted to residential care homes, a new study shows.

The study, in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, looks at the prescribing

of drugs to calm anxiety and sedate, as well as the antipsychotics which are supposed to be prescribed for severe mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and only for dementia as a last resort.

The researchers, from Queen's University Belfast, carried out the study using information from the Northern Ireland prescribing database relating to over 250,000 people over the age of 65, but, they say, the pattern they found holds good for the whole of the UK.

They discovered that only 1.1% of elderly people living in the community in their own homes or with relatives were taking an antipsychotic – the so-called "chemical cosh" drugs, which the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warns are not appropriate for most people with dementia.

But in care homes, 20.3% of residents were on them. They also looked at the dispensing records for those elderly people who made the move into care between January 2009 and January 2010 into care. Their medication shot up. In their own homes, 1.1% were on antipsychotics, 7.3% were on hypnotics –

sedatives or mood stabilisers – and 3.6% were on drugs for anxiety.

But in care homes, 20.3% of residents were on them. They also looked at the dispensing records for those elderly people who made the move into care between January 2009 and January 2010 into care. Their medication shot up. In their own homes, 1.1% were on antipsychotics, 7.3% were on hypnotics –

sedatives or mood stabilisers – and 3.6% were on drugs for anxiety.

Within six months of admission to a care home, say the authors, 30.2% of all new residents had received at least one prescription for an antipsychotic, 37.1% for a hypnotic and 24.5% for an anxiolytic.

Source: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=59584223#post59584223