Aspects of the use of psychoactive medication among people with intellectual disabilities who have been resettled from long-stay hospitals into dispersed housing

Aspects of the use of psychoactive medication were assessed among 118 adults with intellectual disabilities who had been resettled from long-stay hospitals into two local dispersed housing services. The resulting data indicated that (1) 69% of people were receiving psychoactive medication primarily for the control of challenging behaviour; (2) only 8% had psychiatric diagnoses; (3) polypharmacy was frequent and (4) medication was continued over long periods sometimes without review. The prescribing practices of general practitioners tended to follow those inherited from the long-stay hospitals. The findings are compared with recent policy statements concerning the use of anti-psychotic medication and the need for multidisciplinary medication audit, and contrasted with evidence for the greater efficacy of non-pharmacological alternatives.