Up to 22,000 elderly people given the chemical cosh without medical reason

9.01.09am GMT Wed 5th Nov 2003

Up to 22,233 elderly people in nursing homes in England are being kept in a state of sedation for no medical reason according to a damning report published today by Paul Burstow MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Health.

Drawing on parliamentary answers and on an extensive review of both domestic and international research evidence Keep taking the Medicine 2, concludes that antipsychotic medication is being used inappropriately to 'chemically manage' some residents in care homes.

The original report, Keep taking the Medicine, sets out seven recommendations including more frequent reviews of medication in care homes, better documentation of prescribing, tougher requirements on the number of trained staff, and a change in the law governing informed consent.

The main findings in the new report are:

• Up to 22,233 elderly nursing home residents in England are kept under sedation without medical grounds.

• There has been a 6.2 per cent increase in community prescriptions of antipsychotic drugs between 1999 and 2002. Up by 129,000 prescriptions in four years.

• More than two-thirds of GP practices (6,208 out of England's 8,748 GP practices) have missed the Government's April 2002 milestone of establishing annual and six monthly reviews of medication for people over 75.

Commenting on the report's findings Paul Burstow MP said:

"Quite simply the over medication of older people is abuse. It can result in death and it denies older people their dignity.

"Despite mounting evidence that older people are the victims of a chemical cosh in care homes, Minister's have failed to get a grip on the problem.

"With serious shortages of specialist staff and little chance of attracting more, the evidence is that care homes are turning to chemical cocktails to make residents easier to manage.

"More frequent reviews of medication in care homes, better documentation of prescribing, tougher requirements on the number of trained staff, and a new criminal offence of neglect of a vulnerable adult are the essential components of a strategy to tackle the abuse of older people."

ENDS