Many nursing homes in the US overuse antipsychotic drugs on their residents, a report showed.
A study conducted by the non-governmental organization, Human Rights Watch, has noted a worrying surge of antipsychotic drugs used by nursing homes to sedate residents who do not have schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses. The report examined about 179 thousand residents of long-term nursing homes across the US.
According to the study, US nursing homes are administering antipsychotic drugs to tens of thousands of elderly residents each week regardless of their diagnosis.
The report states that the drugs are used to sedating side effects, which make patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease easier to manage.
“People with dementia are often sedated to make life easier for overworked nursing home staff, and the government does little to protect vulnerable residents from such abuse,” said Hannah Flamm, a New York University law school fellow at Human Rights Watch.
The FDA warned against using antipsychotic drugs to treat psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia due to their lethal nature. These warnings are often not relayed to dementia patients nor to their loved ones, according to the study.
One nursing-home social worker said that the reason for sedating someone with these drugs included cries for help. Another social worker included the desire for calmer behavior as another reason for medicating residents.
“The nursing homes don’t want behaviours. The want docile.” The social worker said.
For the study, the researchers focused on six states, including California and Texas, which are known to have the most efficient nursing homes. The report was based on publicly available data, coupled with hundreds of interviews with residents, families and state officials who deal with nursing home complaints.
Another investigation into the overuse of psychotic drugs found that only 2 percent of cases were deemed serious enough for the nursing facilities to be fined.
The Human Rights Watch criticised the government for failing to enforce laws that already exist to protect nursing home residents.
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Roxanne Briean
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