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The National Medicines Safety Improvement Programme (MedSIP) is part of the National Patient Safety Strategy.
The programme aims to address the most important causes of severe harm associated with medicines, that continue to challenge the health and care systems in England.
A new programme that launched in in April 2025 will focus on reducing harm from psychotropics used for behaviour that challenges, in people with a learning disability.
Behaviour that challenges is not a diagnosis, it describes a range of behaviour that some people with learning disability may display when their needs are not being met.
We are delighted to confirm that our system partners working on this are Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB and Northamptonshire ICB.
Learn more about the programme by expanding the sections below.
For queries related to our medicines work, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
As well as our local role, Health Innovation East Midlands and Health Innovation West Midlands work together as lead Patient Safety Collaboratives (PSCs) to coordinate and support delivery of MedSIP nationally.
In Year 2 of the programme, we worked with NHS England and system partners to build national learning infrastructure, develop data and measurement tools, and drive whole-system improvement.
The picture below shows what we delivered together, and the impact we achieved.
Behaviour that challenges Is different behaviour that some people with learning disability may show if their needs are not being met
If possible, doctors should try and use a different therapy than medicine to support people with a learning disability with their behaviour that challenges
But some psychotropic medicines are needed and are helpful.
About psychotropic medicines
Psychotropic medicines can be helpful to treat things like:
Psychosis - this is when someone can see or hear things that other people do not or they think strange things are happening.
Depression - this can make you feel very sad and also worried about things.
Anxiety - this means feeling worried or nervous about something.
Epilepsy - this is when people have seizures (fits).
Psychotropic medicines may also be used for behaviours that challenges. All medicines can have side-effects.
Side-effects are unwanted things that can happen to your body after taking medicines, like feeling tired.
Not everyone will have side-effects
So medicines should only be given when there are clear reasons that the person needs to take them.
Principles are the ideas we think about when we do our work.
The Key principles for this project are:
This will stop people taking medicine they do not need, which might harm them.
How this project might help people with a learning disability
People should have their own personal care plan based on their needs, which includes therapies that are not medicine.
Psychotropic medicines will only be given if someone really needs them.
There will be less harm from psychotropic medicines.
What to do if you are taking psychotropic medicines and you are worried
Do not change the dose of your medicines or stop taking them without talking to your doctor
If you are worried, your doctor and the people who support you will help you.
For more information please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.