Overuse of psychotropics: implementing the STOMP programme in clinical practice
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Overuse of psychotropics: implementing the STOMP programme in clinical practice

Daniel Acton Senior community nurse, community learning disability team, Millennium Centre, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Chester, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To increase your awareness of the principles and potential benefits of the STOMP programme

  • To better understand why psychotropics must not be overused in the learning disability setting

  • To learn about a local community service’s strategy to reduce the use of psychotropics among its clients

There is evidence that people with learning disabilities, particularly those with behaviour that challenges, are prescribed psychotropics even when they do not have a mental health condition. The STOMP programme was launched in 2016 in England and Wales with the aim of reducing the use of psychotropics in adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. This article describes how the STOMP programme was implemented in a community learning disability service for adults at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The article briefly discusses the overuse of psychotropics in people with learning disabilities and describes the local service’s strategy to reduce its clients’ use of psychotropics, highlighting some of the beneficial effects this had on clients’ quality of life.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2021.e2172

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review checked for plagiarism using automated software

@CldtWirral

Correspondence

danny.acton@nhs.net

Conflict of interest

None declared

Acton D (2021) Overuse of psychotropics: implementing the STOMP programme in clinical practice. Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2021.e2172

Published online: 09 December 2021

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more