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Benzodiazepine prescribing in a psychiatric hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

J. Summers  and
K. W. Brown
J. Summers*
Affiliation:
Larkfield Centre, Garngaber Avenue, Lenzie G66 3UG
K. W. Brown
Affiliation:
Central Scotland Healthcare NHS Trust, Larbert
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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Using a case note study, this paper presents a longitudinal survey of the effect of psychiatric inpatient care on benzodiazepine prescribing. Standards were proposed to assess the quality of this prescribing. Based on these standards, the study shows inappropriate use of benzodiazepines. Following admission, there was an increase in the number of patients prescribed benzodiazepines and in the number of benzodiazepines prescribed. Of the benzodiazepines withdrawn, most were contrary to the proposed standard. The quality of drug history showed little emphasis being placed on rationalising benzodiazepine prescribing. The issue of how benzodiazepines should be handled during psychiatric admission is discussed.

Type
Original papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 22 , Issue 8 , August 1998 , pp. 480 - 483
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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