The national health campaign STOMP stands for Stopping Over Medication of People with a learning disability and/or autistic people with psychotropic medicines. 

STAMP stands for Supporting Treatment and Appropriate Medication in Paediatrics. 

The goal is to improve the quality of life of people with a learning disability and/or autistic people by reducing the potential harm of inappropriate psychotropic drugs used to control behaviour thought to be challenging (‘behaviours of concern’) in the absence of a documented mental health diagnosis, or in place of other more appropriate treatment options. The offered interventions should be in-line with the relevant guidelines for their diagnosed condition. 

People with a learning disability and/or autistic people are more likely to be given psychotropic medication than other people. These medicines are right for some people but not all. Psychotropic medicines can cause problems when people take them for too long or take too high a dose or take them for the wrong reason. Some people are taking psychotropic medicines, when they do not have the health conditions the medicines are for. Medicines are often used to manage behaviours of concern for long periods without adequate review.

It is relatively common for people with a learning disability and/or autistic people to show behaviours of concern. All behaviour is a form of communication and where a person with a learning disability and/or an autistic person is behaving in a way that those around them find challenging, it is important that we try to understand why that behaviour is happening. Long-term use of these medicines puts people at unnecessary risk of a wide range of side effects including weight gain, organ failure and even premature death. 

Through STOMP and STAMP we want to: 

1. make the lives of children, young people and adult with a learning disability and/or autistic people who are prescribed psychotropic medications better. 
2. make sure that children, young people and adult who need medication can get the right medication at the right time for the right reason’ 
3. help people to understand more about these medications and have the confidence to ask why they are needed. 
4. make more non-medication treatments and support available. 
5. make sure the person with their family and carers are involved in any decisions to start, stop, reduce or continue taking them. 
6. get more children, young people and adult with a learning disability and/or who are autistic to have an annual health check starting from the age of 14. 

Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin STOMP and STAMP workstreams  

NHS England are working with local systems to improve both. 

1. The decision making about prescribing medication for those with a learning disability and/or who are autistic and how medication use is monitored. 
2. Consideration of alternative responses to behaviours of concern which do not include medication. 

In Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin there are two workstreams focussing on these areas.

You can find out more about STOMP/STAMP on the NHS England Website. 

https://www.england.nhs.uk/learning-disabilities/improving-health/stomp/ 

https://www.england.nhs.uk/learning-disabilities/improving-health/stamp/