NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, together with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, have released a joint statement on the inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines in people with disability and older people as a form of restrictive practice.

Psychotropic medicines are those capable of affecting the mind, perceptions, and behaviour. They include antidepressants, anxiolytic/hypnotics and antipsychotics.

This initiative should improve the lives of those who receive this medication to control behaviour rather than to treat a diagnosed mental disorder, physical illness, or condition.

The statement notes that psychotropic medicines are overprescribed in these population groups despite:

• little evidence of their effectiveness in managing behaviours of concern
• risks associated with their use including falls, weight gain, hypertension, respiratory problems, and an adverse impact on the person’s ability to swallow
• them diminishing wellbeing and quality of life

The signatories to the statement will be working together to:

• raise awareness of the risks associated with inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines
• support improvements to the availability and quality of behaviour support planning, as well as preventative and de-escalation strategies
• strengthen the understanding and capacity for appropriate informed consent, prescribing, dispensing, administration and cessation of psychotropic medicines

A video about the inappropriate use of these medications is available on the NDIS Commission’s website.

Article sourced from National Disability Services