STOMP survey results 2020

STOMP is a national campaign that aims to Stop The Over-Medication of People with learning disabilities and/or autism.

Every day, between 30,000 to 35,000 adults with a learning disability and/or autism are taking psychotropic medicines, when they do not have the health conditions the medicines are for. Children and young people are also prescribed them. These medications are often prescribed as a way to manage behaviour that can be challenging or concerning.

Psychotropic medicines can cause problems if people take them for too long. Or take too high a dose. Or take them for the wrong reason. This can cause side effects like putting on weight, extreme tiredness, and serious problems with physical health.

Brandon’s STOMP pledge

In 2017, Brandon signed the STOMP pledge. Since then, teams across Brandon have been working hard to implement this pledge with people we support and their families. To find out our progress with STOMP, we do an annual survey which is completed by team leaders.

The results of our 2020 survey show some fantastic progress in teams using STOMP. Less people are now prescribed medication for their behaviour, many people have had a medication reduction, everyone starting new medication has had a recent review, and almost everyone has a PBS plan if they are taking medication to manage their behaviour. Well done everyone involved!

There is still some work to do as most people who still take medication to manage their behaviour take it for a long time, and not everyone had had a recent review of their medication.

Some team leaders said COVID-19 has impacted on STOMP as people have needed medication to manage their distress about the changes in their everyday lives. Also, it has been more difficult to arrange face-to-face medical appointments and access other professional support.

Over the next year, to continue to support our teams with STOMP we aim to:

• Develop and roll-out e-learning for all staff on STOMP
• Continue to provide support around behaviours of concern and implementing STOMP

If you would like to talk about these survey results, the STOMP campaign, or have ideas for what we could be doing in Brandon around STOMP, please get in touch with Brandon's PBS advanced practitioner, Natasha Woodstoke.