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Dementia drugs 'useless for most' Dementia drugs 'useless for most'
(40 minutes later)
The vast majority of patients with dementia are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs unnecessarily, a government ordered review has found. Nearly 150,000 people with dementia are being given anti-psychotic drugs unnecessarily, an official review says.
Only about 36,000 of the 180,000 people taking them in the UK derive any benefit from them, it said. The figure represents four in five of the people who are being prescribed the drugs in care homes, hospitals and their own homes to manage aggression.
Unnecessary prescription of the drugs is linked with an extra 1,800 deaths among elderly people every year. The use of the drugs is linked to 1,800 deaths as well as leaving people struggling after strokes and falls.
Care services minister Phil Hope promised a crackdown on the drugs and wider use of psychological therapies. The government in England has agreed to a series of steps to drastically reduce use of the drugs in the coming years.
Professor Sube Banerjee, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and the chair of the review, said the use of anti-psychotic drugs could safely be cut to one third of its current level over a three-year period. These include:
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says anti-psychotic drugs should only be used when a person is a risk to themselves or others, and where all other methods have been tried, and then only for a period of three months.
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  • Improving access to other types of therapy, such as counselling
  • Better monitoring of prescribing practices
  • Guidance for families explaining what they can do if they are worried about drug use
  • Specialist training in dementia for health and social care staff
  • Appointment of a new national director for dementia to oversee the measures
Significant reduction The review - and the government pledge to take action - come after long-running concerns about the use of anti-psychotic drugs.
Mr Hope said the routine prescribing of the drugs was unacceptable. Over the past 30 years, the NHS has increasingly turned to the treatment, which was originally aimed at people with schizophrenia, as it has struggled to cope with the rise in people with dementia.
"More than half of people with dementia will experience agitation or aggression at some point, but NICE guidance is clear - anti-psychotics should only be given when this is really necessary." 'Different mindset'
There are currently 700,000 people in the UK with the condition, but this is expected to rise to one million in the next 10 years because of the ageing population.
The review, led by King's College London expert Professor Sube Banerjee, accepted that for some people anti-psychotic drugs would be necessary.
But it said they should be used only for a maximum of three months and when the person represented a risk to themselves or others.
This goes beyond quality of care. It is a fundamental rights issue Neil Hunt, of the Alzheimer's Society
Professor Banerjee estimated that of the 180,000 people given the drugs each year, only 36,000 benefited.
He said health and social care services needed to develop a "different mindset".
He believes if the steps the government has agreed to are followed, anti-psychotic drug use could be reduced by two-thirds within three years.
Care services minister Phil Hope agreed action was needed.
"We know there are situations where anti-psychotic drug use is necessary - we're not calling for a ban, but we do want to see a significant reduction in use.""We know there are situations where anti-psychotic drug use is necessary - we're not calling for a ban, but we do want to see a significant reduction in use."
Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society said the long-awaited review was a welcome recognition of the scale of the problem. Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said the long-awaited review was a welcome recognition of the scale of the problem.
"The scandalous over prescription of anti-psychotic drugs leads to an estimated 1,800 deaths a year, it must end. He added: "This goes beyond quality of care. It is a fundamental rights issue.
"The report suggests prescriptions could be reduced by two thirds in three years, this is vital and the new action plan cannot afford to fail." "Our members tell us of enormous worry and distress over what is happening to their loved ones."