The Medicines Safety Improvement Programme

Harms associated with high-risk medicines in common use continue to challenge our health and care systems. The Medicines Safety Improvement Programme brings safety culture, safety systems and the science of continuous safety improvement to bear on this complex problem.

A new programme was launched in April 2025, that focuses on helping patients with a learning disability who have behaviour that challenges, to avoid harm from anti-psychotropic medicines.

Patients with learning disabilities can express behaviour that challenges when they experience unmet care needs. Where possible, attempts should be made to use alternative therapies other than medicines.

For every three people with a learning disability and behaviour that challenges who are prescribed an antipsychotic for longer than three months, one person will develop a movement disorder who would not have if all three were supported without anti-psychotropics.

Programme aims

The programme aims to help selected integrated care systems (ICS) in our region to work collaboratively with NHS providers, voluntary organisations, social care providers and those people with lived experiences to support these patients by improving the management of behaviour that challenges. In considering the care needs, the benefits and risks of using anti-psychotropics medicines, and making sure healthcare services are working together to provide the best care the aim is to reduce the number of patients taking medicines that may cause them harm.

The East of England Patient Safety Collaborative supports participating ICS in the region to implement the ‘Whole Systems Approach – seven phases’. Our work has allowed us to support Mid and South Essex ICS in progressing through the first four phases of the whole systems approach, these include:

Further information

For more information, please email improvement@healthinnovationeast.co.uk