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ANTIPSYCHOTIC drugs are being used on a “dangerous scale” to treat people with dementia in care homes amid pandemic pressures, a study has revealed.
Researchers at the University of Exeter and King’s College London found that the number of people with dementia receiving such prescriptions has soared by 18 per cent to 28 per cent since 2018.
In a third of care homes, prescription rates were found to be over 50 per cent.
Antipsychotic drugs are used to treat some of the distressing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.
But campaigners have long called for a reduction in their use on dementia patients due to the increased risk of severe side effects, including stroke, accelerated decline and death.
One of the researchers, Professor Clive Ballard, said that while the majority of care homes should be applauded for maintaining relatively low antipsychotic prescribing amid “tremendous pressure” during the pandemic, there had been “significant rises” in a third of homes.
Dr Richard Oakley of the Alzheimer’s Society said the study exposed the “shocking and dangerous scale” of drug use in care homes. He urged that alternatives be explored.
