Anger over ‘chemical cosh’ drugs for elderly
A RECORD number of elderly people are being given dangerous ‘chemical cosh’ drugs to control their behaviour.
Anti-psychotic medication produces sedative effects to prevent hallucinations in schizophrenics but is now prescribed to dementia sufferers to control agitation.
New figures show more than 25,000 people aged 70 and older were prescribed these drugs in 2015-16.
The number has risen steadily for the past five years, despite the treatment being linked to an increase in the risk of strokes and death.
This comes two years after a study by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, which found almost half of dementia patients were on antipsychotic medication.
The organisation’s warning that the drugs were being prescribed inapproland’s priately was last night backed by charities. Gavin Terry, policy manager at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘This continued reliance on anti-psychotics to manage behavioural symptoms of dementia is deeply worrying.
‘Around 90 per cent of people with dementia experience symptoms that affect their behaviour, causing aggression, agitation or even delusions and hallucinations.
‘These symptoms can develop as part of their condition but may also be caused by other factors – pain, discomfort or unmet need.
‘When this is the case, prescribing anti-psychotics treats the person with dementia as the problem, rather than the root cause of their behaviour.
‘With person-centred approaches and training programmes for care home staff that help them to recognise and use alternative ways to manage people’s symptoms, continued inappropriate prescribing is a step backward into the dark ages.’
The latest figures from NHS Scot- Information Services Division do not provide a breakdown of why anti-psychotic drugs were prescribed.
But the number of patients taking them has leapt almost 25 per cent in the past five years, to 25,518 in 201516. Almost a fifth of those were over the age of 90.
Some elderly people have received a cocktail of anti-psychotic medications, when best practice is just one.
The Mental Welfare Commission found in 2014 that dementia patients had been ‘parked’ on the superstrength drugs and in many cases there was no evidence of a review to judge if they were still needed.
Experts say the drugs should be used as a last resort only, as they also increase the risk of elderly people falling by making them drowsy and impairing mobility.
Concerns over the medication are rising as Scotland’s population ages, adding more people to the 90,000 estimated to be living with dementia.
Richard Baker, policy officer for Age Scotland’s Early Stage Dementia project, said: ‘For some forms of dementia, prescription of antipsychotic drugs can actually worsen the condition, and that is why for these conditions early and accurate diagnosis is crucial.
‘More broadly there have been concerns about the extent and appropriateness of the use of anti-psychotic drugs for people with dementia, and so it is welcome the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that such medication is used only where there is no appropriate alternative and where there is clear benefit to the person receiving the medication.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Prescribing decisions are made by clinicians. Over more than ten years we have seen a general decline in the use of anti-psychotic drugs for the over-65s.
‘Any rise in numbers must be taken in the context of an ageing population and does not necessarily indicate increasing usage.’
‘Treats the person as the problem’