Why you should read this article:

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To increase your awareness of the principles and potential benefits of the STOMP programme

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To better understand why psychotropics must not be overused in the learning disability setting

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To learn about a local community service’s strategy to reduce the use of psychotropics among its clients

There is evidence that people with learning disabilities, particularly those with behaviour that challenges, are prescribed psychotropics even when they do not have a mental health condition. The STOMP programme was launched in 2016 in England and Wales with the aim of reducing the use of psychotropics in adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. This article describes how the STOMP programme was implemented in a community learning disability service for adults at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The article briefly discusses the overuse of psychotropics in people with learning disabilities and describes the local service’s strategy to reduce its clients’ use of psychotropics, highlighting some of the beneficial effects this had on clients’ quality of life.