Medicines Safety

About the programme

The Medicines Safety Programme aims to significantly reduce severe avoidable harm and deaths linked to medication use. This initiative focuses on tackling the primary causes of severe harm associated with medicines, many of which have been longstanding issues yet persistently challenging our health and care systems. The programme affects safety culture, safety systems and high-risk medicines in common use. It brings the science of continuous safety improvement to bear on this complex problem.

During 2025/26 PSCs will continue to deliver the ‘Helping people with a learning disability, at risk of behaviour that challenges, to avoid harm from psychotropic medicines’ programme, this is year two of a three year initiative. 

Key principles for the delivery of this priority are: 

  • Management of behaviour that challenges requires proactive care planning and shared decision making with patients and their carers/ advocates, that incorporates non-pharmacological management* to reduce over prescribing of psychotropics and the associated avoidable harm. 
  • Multi-agency, system working is vital to ensure a co-ordinated approach that enables holistic support and improved accessibility across the entire pathway of care. 
  • A recognised challenge is how to balance short and long-term health needs and goals in this patient group, weighing up the risk versus benefits of using psychotropics, which is often complicated by a fear of destabilisation and variability in access to non-pharmacological management. 

*For example: Positive Behavioural Support (PBS), sensory integration, social prescribing and psychological approaches, including mindfulness and lifestyle interventions. 

Who we are working with

We are working across Yorkshire and the Humber with ICS leads, Primary Care Networks, pharmacists, GPs, acute trusts, other clinicians, voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations, patients and the public to address the ambitions above.

Main deliverables

This year we will support implementation of phases 1-4 of the 7-phase whole system approach delivery framework. 

  • Phase 1 – Set up: Establish governance structures and support required. 
  • Phase 2 – Building the ICS Picture. 
  • Phase 3 – Mapping the ICS System 
  • Phase 4 – Action Planning 

The estimated possible harms that could be avoided from this work are: 

  • For every 3 people with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges who are prescribed an antipsychotic for longer than 3 months, 1 person will develop a movement disorder who would not have if all 3 were supported without antipsychotics. 
  • For every 2 people with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges who are prescribed a psychotropic medication for any duration, 1 will have side-effects that significantly lower their quality of life, who would not have if both people had been supported without psychotropic medication.

Benefits 

  • Reduced severe harm (movement disorders) 
  • Improved quality of life 
  • People with Learning Disability reporting better quality of life, more able to be independent and economically active and experiencing less disability as a result of improved care.

Find out more in Michael’s story

Resource Library

We have set up a Yorkshire and Humber Medicines Safety Improvement Programme Padlet page to collate existing online resources on the subject of opioids and chronic pain management into one easy to access place.

References 

  1. Mencap. How common is learning disability in the UK? : Mencap; [Available from: https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/research-and-statistics/how-common-learning-disability]. 
  1. England N. Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities, Experimental Statistics 2022 to 2023: NHS England; 2023 [Available from: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-and-care-of-people-with-learning-disabilities/experimental-statistics-2022-to-2023]. 
  1. Scheifes A, Walraven S, Stolker JJ, Nijman HL, Tenback DE, Egberts TC, et al. Movement Disorders in Adults With Intellectual Disability and Behavioral Problems Associated With Use of Antipsychotics. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2016;36(4):308-13. 
  1. Scheifes A, Walraven S, Stolker JJ, Nijman HLI, Egberts TCG, Heerdink ER. Adverse events and the relation with quality of life in adults with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour using psychotropic drugs. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2016;49-50:13-21 

How to get involved

Please contact:

Please contact: Ellen Barnes, Workstream Lead, Project Manager.