Trainees from the Devon Partnership NHS Trust recently presented their work at the Faculty of Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability Conference. The audits focused on important areas of clinical practice for people with intellectual disabilities.
Dr Ahmad AbuTalib, ST4 Learning Disability Psychiatry trainee, and Dr Joshua Kan-Bulle, CT2 Psychiatry trainee, presented their work on Friday 2 October. The audits explored antipsychotic prescribing and the management of insomnia in adults with intellectual disabilities.
The first audit, by Dr Ahmad AbuTalib, Dr Joshua Kan-Bulle, and Dr Reena Ijaz-Ul-Haq, reviewed the care of 95 patients between April 2025 and March 2026 within the North and Mid Devon Community Learning Disability Team. It assessed how closely prescribing practice aligned with NICE guidance, finding high levels of documented physical health monitoring and capacity assessments. Compared to a previous audit, physical health monitoring improved from 91% to 98.5%, and the proportion of patients prescribed an antipsychotic increased from 63.4% to 70.5%. The findings highlighted areas for continued improvement, including clearer documentation of treatment indications and capacity assessments, ongoing physical health monitoring, and reviewing psychotropic polypharmacy in line with STOMP principles.
The second audit, by Dr Joshua Kan-Bulle, Dr Andres Martinez, and Dr Reena Ijaz-Ul-Haq, focused on the management of insomnia in adults with intellectual disabilities. It examined how insomnia is assessed and managed, considering whether underlying sleep disorders are identified, non-drug approaches are considered first, and appropriate follow-up takes place. The importance of clearly documenting capacity assessments, reasons for prescribing medication, and ongoing medication plans was also considered, supporting safe, evidence-based care consistent with NICE guidance.
Dr Reena Ijaz-Ul-Haq, who supervised the trainees, expressed pride in seeing both audits presented and happiness with the trainees' achievements. Both audits were registered with the trust's audit team, and the posters were shared. This work allows for sharing learning beyond immediate clinical teams and highlights the trainees' contribution to reviewing and improving clinical practice for people with intellectual disabilities.
