Shocking news earlier today that over 30,000 people with learning disabilities and autism are being wrongly prescribed antipsychotics and antidepressants. The news has prompted health officials to say that urgent action is promised.
The National Health Service (NHS) were quoted in the Telgraph article as saying, "...it was completely unacceptable that vulnerable people were being left on the drugs for years, without proper checks to see if the medication was suitable."
The Telegraph also report that...
In recent years there has been concern about the use of antipsychotic drugs for patients with dementia, with research showing the medication can increase the risks of stroke and death.
The new research led by Public Health England (PHE) estimates that up to 35,000 adults with a learning disability or autism are being prescribed an anti-psychotic, an anti-depressant or both without appropriate clinical justification
Some children were also being put on unsuitable drugs, the audit of GPs’ prescribing found.
The review established that 58 per cent of adults receiving anti-psychotics and 32 per cent of those receiving anti-depressants had no relevant diagnosis recorded.
Hello, earth calling the MHRA.
The MHRA, if you didn't know, are the British medicine regulator who, through my own experience of them, shirk any responsibility whatsoever when it comes to looking after the British public where psychiatric medicine is concerned. One only has to look at their reluctance to speak out about the dangers of SSRi medications, opting instead to give SSRi's a clean bill of health after forming apparent "expert" advisory committees.
So, do we blame the medicine regulator or do we blame the doctors prescribing these meds to the elderly, young and disabled?
That's the age-old question and one that repeatedly gets batted around from pillar to post with nobody really knowing what the answer is.
I'll spell it out for you.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regulates medicines and medical devices in the UK. They proudly boast that they are "recognised globally as an authority in its field" and that they "play a leading role in protecting and improving public health."
Earlier this week the MHRA promoted, through various social networking websites, the launch of the new app for Yellow Card reporting. It's a good move but I don't really think they have thought things through, particularly with news that over 30,000 people have been wrongly prescribed mind-altering drugs.
The new Yellow card app, claim the MHRA, is an "app that allows patients, carers and healthcare professionals to report side effects directly to the Yellow Card Scheme to help MHRA ensure they are acceptably safe for patients."
The app will also enable users to...
- create a ‘watch list’ of medications to receive official news and alerts on
- view numbers of Yellow Cards received by MHRA for medicines of interest
- see immediate response that shows Yellow Card has been accepted
- submit updates to Yellow Cards already submitted
- view previous Yellow Cards submitted through the app
Nice to see the old-timers spring into the 21st century.
If you are a user of the app then expect lengthy delays on finding answers to whether or not your medication can cause suicidal thoughts and severe withdrawal effects. Also, don't expect any help if you are, indeed, addicted to your medication - The MHRA won't/can't help you on that front. They will, just like the manufacturer of the said drug, refer you back to your doctor.... and so the psychle (misspelling intended) continues. Oh, and any news alerts on drugs will be straight from the mouth of pharmaceutical companies so take these alerts with a pinch of salt. Let's face it, pharmaceutical companies don't really have a great history of telling the truth, do they?
Am I right to blame the MHRA for these latest figures?
Let's look at it again.
Over 30,000 people with learning disabilities and autism are being wrongly prescribed antipsychotics and antidepressants!
And how, may I ask, do the MHRA propose that these 30,000 download, let alone use their app?
Do the MHRA know exactly what it's like to experience psychiatric medicinal torture? You can, at times, barely get out of bed. Do the MHRA think for one minute that the 30,000 over-prescribed these mind-altering drugs will get help from the very same doctors who wrongly prescribed them the drugs?
Here we have a bunch of people with learning difficulties (I'm on about the 30,000 and not the MHRA) - If life wasn't bad enough for them, health professionals make it even more difficult by adding a chemical cosh.
Since when did learning disabilities fall under the banner of having a brain disease?
The MHRA claim that they "play a leading role in protecting and improving public health." (Insert laughter here)
So, one would expect that this latest news would have had some input from the MHRA, correct?
Wrong.
The research was led by Public Health England (PHE)
For years the MHRA have known that children are being prescribed antipsychotics and antidepressants, they claim that these are, at times, prescribed off-label and many of the drugs aren't meant for children.
Tell us something we don't know!
Point is, what are they doing about it? In a word, nothing.
So, these latest figures from PHE will, no doubt, cause quite a stir. The MHRA will blame the doctors, in turn, the doctors will blame a lack of alternative options. Meantime, during this passing the buck of responsibility game, patients with learning difficulties will be silenced and dumbed-down with drugs that have, for years, been prescribed to children who have suffered at the hands of them.
Who is looking out for these kids and adults with learning disabilities?
It's bad enough that the medical profession and regulators treat learning disabilities with such disdain. It's as if they are the dog shit on the bottom of healthcare professional and MHRA's boots.
"Silence Them!"
Meantime, the MHRA continue to backslap themselves for creating an app, that should have been created many years ago, I mean, apps have been around for years, haven't they?
If the MHRA really wanted to gain public support then they should step into the arena and stop pussy-footing around and buck-passing.
The Telegraph article, 'More than 30,000 people with autism and learning disabilities 'under the chemical cosh', can be read, in full, here.
Bob Fiddaman.
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