Who can participate?

Any service provider organisation that supports individuals with intellectual disabilitis that takes antipsychotic medicine for behaviours that challenge.

Any services supporting individuals with mental health problems are excluded from participation.

Support staff, service managers and individuals with intellectual disabilities will participate.

What happens when our service participates?

Homes from each service provider organisation that participate in the project will be randomly allocated to either the intervention arm (SPECTROM + organisation’s usual care) or treatment as usual (Organisation’s usual care without SPECTROM training).
Trainers in the service will provide bespoke training to each service that has been randomised to SPECTROM arm. The trainer could be a generic trainer, a PBS trainer, a service manager, or a home manager.
Data will be collected from support staff, service managers, trainers and individuals with intellectual disabiltiies. We will also carry out process evaluation (focus groups and interviews) to understand staff's and adults with intellectual disabilities' experiences of the SPECTROM training and project.

Is staff participation time reimbursed?

Information for service providers

Service managers' responsibilities

Identify support homes with at least one individual who is on antipsychotics for behaviours that challenge.
Identify support staff willing to participate in the project and organise rotas to release staff to attend SPECTROM training sessions.
Help the researcher to assess the capacity of the adult with intellectual disabilities.
Help the pharmacist or the nurse conduct a structured preparatory medication review.
Organise a multi-stakeholder meeting to discuss deprescribing.
Lead (with the pharmacist) a multi-stakeholder meeting to discuss the findings of the preparatory medication review and plan for deprescribing, along with the preparation of a contingency plan.
With the pharmacist, coordinate the follow-up if deprescribing is initiated.

Benefits for adults with intellectual disabilities

Reduce medicine-related burden.
Improved quality of life and enhanced safety as a result of reduced side effects.
Greater autonomy and self-determination supported by a structured multi-stakeholder decision-making process that will take place.
Participants will benefit from non-pharmacological approaches as alternatives to medication for addressing behaviours of concern.
Monitoring of physical health indicators will support better overall health management.
Improved communication between staff and the person with intellectual disabilities through SPECTROM training.

Organisational benefits

Demonstrate organisational commitment to national priorities (STOMP, CTR, CQC requirements) and safer prescribing practice.
Participation in a high-profile, UK Government-funded trial positions organisations as leaders in evidence-based, person-centred care for adults with learning disabilities (USP for the organisation’s publicity).
Cost of backfilling staff participation time is reimbursed
Scope of future roll out of the programme within the organisation (transferable workforce development resources available free of charge)
Organisations can demonstrate measurable improvements in care quality and resident safety
Reduction in the risk of medicine-related hospitalisations and adverse events, with potential cost savings for health and social care services

Staff benefits

Free medicine optimisation planning including SPECTROM training.
Free pharmacist-led structured medicine review.
Staff empowerment and confidence building.
Improved knowledge of mental health medicines.
Skills on reasonable adjustments and improved communication with the person they support, their families and professionals.
Integration of medicine optimisation planning and SPECTROM training within the organisation’s existing programme to help future scaling up.
Participate in a nationally significant, world-class research project led by a pioneering research team in a world-renowned institution.