The vast majority of patients with dementia are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs unnecessarily, a government ordered review has found.

Only about 36,000 of the 180,000 people taking them in the UK derive any benefit from them, it said. Unnecessary prescription of the drugs is linked with an extra 1,800 deaths among elderly people every year.Care services minister Phil Hope promised a crackdown on the drugs and wider use of psychological therapies.

Professor Sube Banerjee, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and the chair of the review, said the use of anti-psychotic drugs could safely be cut to one third of its current level over a three-year period.Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says anti-psychotic drugs should only be used when a person is a risk to themselves or others, and where all other methods have been tried, and then only for a period of three months.

Significant Reduction

Mr Hope said the routine prescribing of the drugs was unacceptable."More than half of people with dementia will experience agitation or aggression at some point, but NICE guidance is clear - anti-psychotics should only be given when this is really necessary."

"We know there are situations where anti-psychotic drug use is necessary - we're not calling for a ban, but we do want to see a significant reduction in use."Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society said the long-awaited review was a welcome recognition of the scale of the problem.

"The scandalous over prescription of anti-psychotic drugs leads to an estimated 1,800 deaths a year, it must end."The report suggests prescriptions could be reduced by two thirds in three years, this is vital and the new action plan cannot afford to fail."