‘Chemical cosh’ scandal’: Thousands of patients with no history of mental illness needlessly given cocktail of anti-psychotic drugs

‘Doctors are needlessly doling out powerful anti- psychotic drugs to thousands of patients, experts warn.

People with learning disabilities, dementia and autism are being given the drugs as a ‘chemical cosh’ to control their behaviour, research shows.

Anti-psychotics should normally be used to treat mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.’