STOMPing out over medication

A man we support at The Willows in Taunton has had his medication successfully reduced and stopped after a STOMP plan was introduced in the summer.

STOMP is an NHS campaign to ‘stop the over medication of people with learning disabilities and/or autism’.

The man was taking antidepressant medications Citalopram and Amitriptyline when Discovery started supporting him in 2018. Initially, he was able to reduce his dose of Citalopram and then stop taking it, without any negative effects.

In August 2020, his prescription for Amitriptyline was also reduced and stopped.

Locality Manager, Di Trigger said: “Not only has he not suffered any adverse symptoms but he is calmer and more content and he was heard laughing for the first time since he moved to The Willows. The man’s GP said this was definitely the best STOMP success she’d had so far.”

Discovery aims to stop the practice of medications being used to control behaviour, and encourages different models of support to achieve healthier and better outcomes.