Aims To determine compliance with the Psychotropic Medicines in Cognitive Disability or Impairment Clinical Care Standards with respect to management of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD).
Methods A retrospective audit of hospitalised inpatients with a diagnosis of dementia and BPSD, admitted to geriatric and neurobehavioral units between January and May 2025 was conducted. Following randomisation, data was collected from the electronic medical record and assessed to evaluate compliance against the new clinical care standards. The psychotropic class of focus was the use of antipsychotics.
Results All patients (n=62) had a diagnosis of cognitive impairment with BPSD. In patients prescribed newly initiated antipsychotics, consent was documented in 13 (21%) patients. Documentation of a Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) was found in 43 (69%) patients. Indications for regular antipsychotics were documented in 53 (85%) patients and 54 (87%) patients had indications documented for when required orders. Documentation for timeframes to review antipsychotics was found in 44 (71%) of patients, and only 17 (27%) had a documented plan for the antipsychotic beyond discharge.
Conclusions This study highlights scope for improvement across several aspects of the clinical care standard, including the consenting process, documentation of the timeframes for review, particularly on discharge, and development of BSPs. The results from this audit are being presented across multiple forums within the network. A network-wide audit building a gap analysis will also follow to guide improvement.