USE OF ANTIPSYCHOTICS FOR DEMENTIA

That this House notes that dementia is a devastating illness which currently afflicts approximately 820,000 people in the UK; is therefore deeply concerned by the findings of Professor Sube Banerjee's 2009 Report entitled The use of antipsychotic medication for people with dementia, which highlighted that only one in five patients derived positive benefits from antipsychotic medication and that approximately 1,800 patients are estimated to die annually as a result of inappropriate antipsychotic prescribing; considers the upcoming National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) health technology assessment on dementia as an ideal opportunity for NICE to consider the use of antipsychotics; calls on the Government to intervene urgentlyto stop the over-prescription of antipsychotics for dementia patients and fully implement Professor Banerjee's specific recommendation to reduce inappropriate use of antipsychotics and promote more effective and appropriate pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for dementia patients; and further calls on the Government to enforce NICE Quality Standards on Dementia.